What I hate about you
by yune19
Summary: What will happen when Bella Swan is forced to do a Literature project with proud and obstinate Edward Cullen?
1. Chapter 1

Okay people, I know I uploaded a new story a few days ago. But honestly? I hated it. I hated the way it was going and I couldn't get a clear grasp of the characters. So, on Saturday I started a new one. And here is the first chappie. Hope you guys like and if you do, please comment. I like reading to people's comments and it motivates me a lot. So if you want me to continue this story, whch I am already loving woith every bit of my heart, please leave a comment or put this story on story a lert or favorites.

If I receive at least five notifications by tomorrow afternoon, I'll post the new chapter. I have just finished chapter three, which hopefully will be up on tuesday.

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BPOV

Just as I was closing my locker I was caught of guard by Alice. She always scared me like that. I tried to catch my breath.

"Hey Bella" she smiled. She was always happy and chipper. From all my friends, Alice was the energetic one. Sometimes I wondered if she had a spare battery somewhere. She never seemed to be tired.

"Hey Alice, what's up?" I asked her as we were walking to class.

"I was just wondering if you would be a doll and help me out with my trig homework. I can't seem to get the last chapter Mr. Frederick was going through last semester. I'm sorry to be a pain, but we have a test next week and…" she was saying but I stopped her mid sentence.

"It's okay, it's no problem really. But you'll have to help me with Lit. I can't seem to get this book we're going to be reading; 1981".

Alice held out her pinky finger as if to do a promise. "Pinky swear". We always did this, since we were little kids in elementary. I should also add that from all my friends, Alice was the most childish.

Just then her brother passed us in the hallway. Edward Cullen was currently the hottest guy in the whole school and every female in the institution wanted to have him. Too bad he was already taken. Not for me though. The whole time I've known Alice, I hated Edward. He was cocky, obnoxious, and proud. He could have any girl here and he knew it. I think he even tried to get me, but did not succeed. I was Alice's pride and joy and she loved me for just being me. I was the girl that Edward Cullen could never get and he hated me for it. So you could say that our relationship was based purely on hate.

As we were walking, I caught a glimpse of Edward and saw him wink at me. Mocking me, of course. He just loved to do that. It irritated me and he knew that.

It still surprised me that he was older than me. His personality was completely opposite from mine, and if I do say so myself, he was the childish one. I was fine and happy ignoring him. Actually, that was the mature thing to do.

As usual he stopped by Tanya Harver's locker and started locking lips with her. Figures he would go for a girl like her. She was blond with baby blue eyes, big breasts, good ass, everything a guy would want in a girl. And to top it all, she was brainless. Seriously! She was pretty bad at almost everything. The only reason why she was still in school was because of her parents. But if it were up to her, she would probably up in a reality show like Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, or maybe she would be better off in the playboy mansion. God knows how many guys she's done while dating Edward. Not that he was clueless about it. He just didn't care. After all, he was doing her too. Pretty sick, right?

Luckily the bell rang and class started. No need to see Edward Cullen and Tanya kissing like they were hungry puppies. I wanted to keep my food down, thank you very much. To my disdain however, Edward was in my English class. God knows why. I could bet my whole inheritance that he hated Literature. I wasn't even sure if he likes to read. Thinking about it, I never saw him holding a book in my whole life. So, imagine my surprise when he came into the classroom like he owned the place. Something told me this would be a fun semester, not.

His presence was not the only thing that surprised me though. Contrary to what I thought, Edward Cullen was pretty smart. Too bad he liked to brag about it. His comments made me want to smash his head with something. But at the same time, listening to his remarks about the book the professor made us read left me speechless. To make matters worse, Mr. Gibbs had to pick me and ask me something. I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I hadn't listened to him completely.

"Um... I'm sorry? Could you repeat the question please?" I asked nervously. I could hear Edward smirk and laugh quietly. I just scowled at him.

"Do you think the world created by the author in the book seems realistic? Could it be a preview of what the future could be? Mr. Masen seems to think so. What is your opinion Miss Swan?" Mr. Gibbs repeated. I tried remembering what exactly the book was about. The world created by the author? Well, it was creepy, that was for sure. I mean, monitors watching your every move? I would never wish for a world like that.

"I really hope not" I answered flatly. The teacher looked at me thoughtfully.

"And why not Miss Swan?"

"Well, although I do agree that some measure of surveillance is needed, there are certain boundaries to be kept. People have personal lives and don't deserve to be judged by them. And more than anything, I wouldn't want to be treated as a machine with no feelings or thoughts whatsoever. Not loving or caring about someone just seems so cold" I explained. Now Mr. Gibbs was not the only one interested in my reply, so was most of the class, including Edward.

"Yeah, well. You might think that way because you're a girl. Always worrying about romantic stuff like that. I think that a world with no feelings works better than one with them. It would avoid many unnecessary quarrels" Edward retaliated. I swear I could have strangled him right then and there for his sexist comment. Did he just call me girly? I hated that!

"I'm sorry, but I see nothing wrong with my viewpoint. How can you possibly condone an idea like that?" I asked him exasperated. I had also stood up to face him.

I could see that Edward was going to respond but the bell rang at that instant and he left with a smile. Before he was completely out the door Mr. Gibbs stopped him and asked us both to stay for a few minutes. When the whole class had gone out he sat us both in two desks in front of him.

"You two are very talented. Out of most of my class here, I think you two are the only ones who actually read the book. And I like your ideas and how you debate. That's why I'm assigning you on a project, which will be due at the end of the course. That would give you about three months to work on it. I want you to read one of my favorite novels, _The Devil's Feather_ and make a commentary about it. Of course, the rest of the class will have a similar project, but they will get to decide what to do. Since I think you two can handle a book of that caliber, I am making you two read it. But I don't want separate commentaries; I want you to work as one team. Understood?" he explained. I just gaped and looked at him as if he lost it or something. There was no way I was working with Edward Cullen. We both looked at each other and then back at Mr. Gibbs.

"With all due respect Mr. Gibbs, I can't work on this project, I already… um…. have another project due" Edward was trying to lie, lamely.

"Keep it Mr. Masen. If you two think I didn't notice your animosity earlier, you are sadly mistaken. That is one of the reasons why I think you two will make a perfect team. This book entails you two getting to know a character who suffers a tragedy and must overcome it. It's perfect for you two. I can see many discussions surging between the two of you. Can't wait to see your finished work. You are dismissed" He responded flatly, then he got his belongings and lefts us in the room.

Edward and I were speechless for once. We knew there was no way out of this. After a few minutes of quiet and silence, he faced me with his knowing smile.

"Let's work hard partner" he joked and left the room.

After the whole fiasco I just wanted to go home and lock myself in my room to never resurface. This was a nightmare, and I knew I was never going to wake up.

EPOV

This was just great. As I left the room, I tried racking my brains for a way out of this. I didn't want to work with Bella just as much as she didn't want to work with me. I pictured that she would be taking Lit. She loved to read, anyone who knew her, knew that much. But why the fuck did Mr. Gibbs have to stick me with her? What did he see in our so called team? We would be bickering and shouting during this project. Bella was too dramatic and touchy feely for my own good. I wanted things to be simple and conflict free. She always called me a coward for that.

It was definite, I was pissed. So you can well imagine how I reacted when Tanya threw her arms around me. I just wanted to throw her away like a ragged doll. I know I'm an asshole for even imagining it. Tanya, being her usual sweet self could tell that something bothered me and let me go, but not without asking me.

"Something wrong?" she looked genuinely worried and I hated making her feel like that. Tanya and I have been dating for over a year already, and although I didn't love her, I did like her. I mean, she had a hot body and she cared about me a little. And she was a good listener. The only downside to her was that she was a slut and she slept with not only me but also my friends. The first time I caught her was in freshman year. We broke up for real, but then one thing led to the other and we got back together again. Then we broke up again, and got together again. We've been on a off a lot of times, but this time we made it last a year. She was like a female friend with benefit. I still doubted whether I could really call her a real girlfriend.

"It's nothing really. I just got stuck in a position I never asked for" I answered her and kissed her head. Then I took her in my arms we went to our next class.

"Explain" she pleaded and looked at me with her sad puppy eyes. I had to stifle a laugh. She looked cute when she did that.

"It's my Lit class. I have to do this project with Bella…" I started but she stopped me by putting a finger in front of my lips.

"Bella Swan? Ha! But you hate her since you two were small. You always say how bitchy she is and how much she complains about stuff" she told me. I knew all that, so forgive me but I had to look at her like she was stupid. It annoyed me when people repeated things I already knew. "Well, can't you ask your professor to excuse you?" again I gave the same look. She was starting to notice my ill mood again so tried to change the subject to her shopping plans this afternoon. I knew this was my queue to run away. I didn't want to be part of her plans. So I kissed her again, this time in the lips, and left for my next class.

My next class was biology. Since I didn't want to take chemistry, the councilor told me to take biology. She said I needed a science class to fill my curriculum. Boy did I ever regret telling her I hated chemistry. Just imagine who was also taking biology? Yup! None other than Bella Swan. Just great. Just what I needed. Not only do I have to do a freaking project with her in Lit class but I have to be her fucking lab partner now. All because I was two minutes late for class. Why didn't anyone want to pair up with her? Oh! Right. Cause' they knew just how annoying she could be.

I sat as far away from her as possible, avoiding any contact with her as if she were a plague. I know I was being an idiot and ass by doing that, but I didn't want to upset her or get her started on her usual rants. I just wanted to get by quietly in class. Time didn't seem to help though. The seconds ticked by as slowly as possible and it felt like torture. I tried listening to Mrs. Steiffer but my mind kept going to Bella. She looked so focused on the class which surprised me. The whole time she was quiet. She was not fuming like I was minutes before.

I tried to run from the classroom as fast as possible when the bell rang, but Bella stopped me by grabbing hold of my arm. I looked at her surprised.

"Um… Edward…" she was trying to say something and was failing miserably at it. It was clear and evident that she was at a loss for words and as much as I tried, I couldn't help but smile. The whole time I've known the girl, we've always been awkward to each other. Best not let that affect our grades though. I really wanted to get into Princeton.

"Look Bella. No offense. I don't want to start an argument with you right now, so let's just work in this project together and get by in biology. I really need my grades to stay up. So, partners?" I held my hand out in signal of a truce.

She looked at me questioningly and I couldn't blame her. But I waited patiently for her to believe my words and we shook hands. Then I left. I had no wish to prolong this torture, and I also knew that it would last the whole semester.

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Don't forget to comment!!

Thank you!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey people!!! Thank you so much for adding this story to your fav lists. I am so happy ^_^ For a moment there I felt like being selfish and keeping this to myself. But then again, if you guys like it, I will share it. Woot! I got the 5 notifications. So here's the next chapter. I'm sorry to say that BellaxEdward interactions are kept to a minimum for now. I don't want to rush things between the two. But not to worry, soon enough they will start quarreling and fighting like a cat and a dog. Hope you guys like this chap. I wanted you to get to know the rest of the gang.

Oh! I didn't say it before so I'll say it now before I forget.

I don't own Twilight or any of the characters.

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BPOV

Well, day one was a complete disaster. I couldn't even frame a coherent sentence around Edward, which should have made me look like a freaking idiot. Just what I wanted him to think of me. If he thought that I was going to be a burden to him with our classes then he was completely wrong. I wouldn't give him the pleasure of taunting me for the rest of my life. So as soon as I got home, I went online to Amazon. com and bought _The Devil's Feather _using my dad's credit card. Surely he wouldn't mind. He knew I only bought books with it. Normally any dad would have an attack if they ever found out his daughter used his credit card. But not Charlie. He was very carefree about it. And he always thanked the lord he had me as a daughter and not someone like Alice. She would have wiped it all in only one day.

After buying the book, I continued reading _1981_, until I heard my doorbell and knew that a certain pixie was already here, with more than enough homework questions to last us the whole day. I'm not saying that Alice was not smart, because she could be smarter than me sometimes. She just picked up on things a bit slowly and I was her review partner. Which worked out fine for both of us. While she quizzed me about any class I was taking, I did the same with her.

As I went down the stairs, I made sure to do it carefully and avoided running. I tend to be a klutz and fall or trip easily. Alice was waiting for me already sitting in the living room with her book bag next to her. It only took her a second to notice me in the room and throw herself at me and give me a big hug.

"Bella! You have no idea just how much you're helping me today. I'll owe you forever for this" she told me.

"Well, if you could get me out of this project I have to do with your brother I may call it even" I joked. I truly just wanted to make her laugh with that but instead she got concerned, as if the end of the world were coming, which coming from her, was very sweet.

"I'm sorry Bella. I wish I could do something about it, but it is an important assignment. But if Edward ever tries something with you, just tell me, and I will have Rosalie all over him. Got it?" she smiled and sauntered to her stuff and got her books out. I just laughed. It didn't take much to crack Edward Cullen and make him suffer. If anyone could get to him, it was Rosalie Hale. She could be a real bitch when she wanted to and I loved that about her. Thinking about it, she was the one who taught me how to reject Edward in the first place.

If there was anyone Edward Cullen hated to death besides me, it was Rosalie Hale. Weird how she was dating one of his best friends. I wonder how that works out.

Just when Alice was going over a cosine problem in her homework, my cell phone rang. I already knew who it was before I ever saw the called ID.

"Hey Rose, where the hell are you? Don't tell me shopping cause' Alice would kill you and she's right next to me" I warned her. Alice had stuck her head next to the phone to listen in. I just laughed at her.

"Never mind where I am. What is this that I hear? Are you working with Edward?" she asked me concerned. Just like Alice. God, I love them both. What would I do without the two of them?

"Don't worry Rose. You can torture Edward if he ever tries to hurt me. I promise. Now can you answer my question? Don't try to avoid it" I warned her.

"Fine! I'm in the mall with Emmet and the guys" she finally let out. Oh! enemy territory. That would explain how she found out about the Lit project. He must have told everyone.

Just then Alice grabbed the phone from me and started arguing with Rosalie. Oops! I laughed hard. It was always like this between us. Alice was so addicted to shopping that neither of us could go with out her or she would think we were betraying her.

After fighting for about five minutes, Alice hung up and gave me the phone back. Then Rose called again. She just told me five words and hung up. "You will pay for this".

Alice and I finished our homework at around 7, and then we started on dinner. Charlie would be back any minute and he would be hungry. I went to the storage closet and found some pasta. Maybe some Alfredo was a good idea. Alice was already boiling the water.

"Bella, if you want to back out on working with Edward, you still can, you know? I mean, I grew up with the guy, I know how sick he can be sometimes" Alice said casually.

I had to smile and hug her. She was really worried and it made me laugh a little. "Alice, I will be fine. Edward is not going to bite my head off. I am a big girl, I can handle it"

And with that she dropped the subject. Charlie arrived just when the pasta was ready to eat. I looked at Alice and we both laughed. This was not the first time this happened. Charlie had a sixth sense or something and could tell when the food was ready before we even served it.

After dinner, Alice left and I went upstairs to finish reading my book. I put my IPod on and just drifted away. I didn't want to think about today at all. I just wanted to close my eyes and relax.

For the rest of the week, Edward and I basically ignored each other. In class we might have had a few arguments but not more than usual. And biology class went by smoothly and we had our labs in silence. Surprisingly, he made a good lab partner. He never broke anything or let anything fall. If anything, he was perfect. And he already knew the content before the teacher even touched it, so I could trust him to know what to do. And luckily he hasn't asked me about the project yet.

This Saturday I was planning on going to La Push with Alice and Rosalie just to hang out. I needed to go out before the summer ended. And it would be good to see Jake. I need a guy friend to talk to. And I really wanted to get on our bikes.

EPOV

I thought it would be annoying to have Bella as a lab partner in bio, but it turned out to be really quiet. I wasn't much of a talkative person and her silence worked out well for me. She might have spilled a few things here and there, but nothing I didn't expect. That's why I always had a spare flask.

Lit class wasn't that bad either. I actually enjoyed arguing with her about random stuff. It still frustrated me how girly her ideas could be and sometimes I lost my calm around her, but for the most part I think I handled myself quite fine. I think Mr. Gibbs was eyeing us and watching our reactions. Now that I really think about, Bella and I were mostly the ones who argued about any book we were reading.

After class, Emmet and Jasper were waiting for me in Emmet's car. "You're not going with my sis Jasper?" I asked him.

Jasper normally left school with Alice, which was why it surprised me that he was with Emmet. Believe me, I have no idea what Jasper saw in Alice, but he was infatuated with her and has been ever since we started high school. Let me rewind a few years back and tell you how our group got started. This is a story worth telling.

First of all, Emmet, Jasper and I were an inseparable trio. We have been since the sixth grade, when all three of us started going to the same school in Washington, Forks. Emmet was the jock in our group and the muscular one. Jasper was the brains and science nerd. And I, well, I was the player. We made quite an interesting group. Every time we remember the good old days, I can't avoid laughing.

Emmet has always been so childish. When I compare him to Alice, I have no idea who wins. One believes in super heroes and the other likes Disney movies. I sometimes question how I ever kept my sanity with those two.

Anyways, when we entered high school, everything changed. We were three popular freshmen. Mostly because of me and Emmet. Girls just liked Jasper because he was good at almost everything. Then out of nowhere, Alice and Rosalie joined our group. I swear, it took me completely by surprise when Jasper told me he had feelings for my sister. I looked at him as if he lost it. I mean, I know Alice. She was quirky and weird. Always had been. But Jasper was serious. For all the time that we've been friends I had to accept it and help the guy out. But then Emmet came to us and told us that he though Rosalie Hale was hot. Now that was the last straw. I completely lost it that day and got in a huge fight with Emmet. I don't mean to offend our friendship, but of all the hot girls that Forks High School had to offer, he had to fall for the bitchest of all that is bitch. No way was I letting her in our group.

Now, years later, in our senior year, here is Rosalie Hale with Emmet. And we are still friends. So you can well imagine who won that fight. I still hated Rosalie though. Many times she just makes comments that annoyed me. Like this one time she was complaining on how I kept on dating Tanya even though I knew she was cheating on me with other guys and how much of a whore she was and that I deserved better. Now, for any girl that might have sounded cute and even sweet. But for me, it was pure bulls shit and I didn't want to hear it. I was a guy for the love of God! I didn't give a damn if she was seeing other guys. I could sleep with other girls if I wanted. I just didn't. No other girl really called my attention. And Tanya and I didn't sleep around. That was another thing that Rosalie complained about. That apparently I fucked too much. I just about started yelling at her that time. But let it go. I didn't want anyone thinking I was getting corny or anything like that. I had a reputation to withhold.

You might be wondering where the hell Bella fits in this whole picture. Well, first of all she doesn't. I have always ignored Bella as much as I could. Sometimes I would mock her or make fun of her. But that was for my enjoyment. She was too easy to annoy. Other than that, she didn't exist for me. Until now. I was just three months away from graduating and getting the hell out of this school, and she had to be thrust in my direction.

Bella might have been Rose's and Alice's best friend since elementary school. But that doesn't mean shit to me. She could be the freaking princess of England and I still wouldn't give a damn. Besides, if I thought Rosalie was a pain in the ass, Bella was ten times worse. Before I ever started dating Tanya, she had already judged me and thought badly of me. For a moment I thought that maybe she liked me and like every other girl in school she wanted me. So I went for it. That's one of the things that set me off about her. When I went to kiss her, she slapped me and called me all kinds of things. It wasn't the pain in my check that pissed me off. I have received worse. It was the way she looked at me as if she expected me to do it to prove her right. And damn, I fell for it. I fucking fell in her trap. Well, I won't do it again.

This time, we will just do our project, finish it, present it, and get it all over with. I will graduate and never see her again. It was just three months. Nothing could happen in that time. Right?

Back to the present.

"Nope, Emmet wants to go play some ball with the team. Wanna join us? Or do you prefer to be with sweet Tanya?" he responded mocking me. I tried to punch him but he dodged my arm and got my head through his arms. We always played like that.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass. I have other stuff to do, that don't include Tanya" I answered. I wanted to make sure they wouldn't be mocking me later.

"Go it. See ya tomorrow man" Emmet said and they both got in his car and drove off. I turned around and went to my car. Before I even got to it, I noticed Bella coming out of the school building with Alice and Rosalie. We locked eyes for a second but then pretended we never saw each other. Just then, Tanya came out of nowhere and held me in her arms. For some reason, I have no idea why, I wished I were with the guys right now and not with Tanya. Having her hug me didn't make me feel anything. No sweetness, nothing. Normally I would be happy to have her holding me like that. But right now, I felt nothing. So I did what any other would have done in my position. I pushed her away and walked away from her toward my Volvo, leaving her there in the parking lot wondering what the hell happened to me. Well, I wish her good luck figuring that one out. Not even I had any idea what was happening to me.

As soon as I got home, I went and locked myself in my room. I put a _Linkin Park_ CD in the computer, put it at full blast and started writing. Yes, I liked to write. This was my one and sole secret. No one, not even Jasper or Emmet, knew about this. I would rather die than have them think I was a poet or a romantic. I would never live off their mocking if they found out. So, many times I made them think I was with Tanya and lied.

And before any of you judge me, let me tell you that I do not write corny romance novels or anything of that shit. I am no Shakespeare. I am more like the Stephen King of my era. I liked action packed stories with blood, suspense, and tragedy. And no, I am not emo. I just like to give a touch of mystery to stuff. You just don't call someone emo because they enjoy watching movies like Resident Evil.

As I was writing another chapter in my book, I could hear the door opening, and girls laughing. Fuck! I would have to kill Alice later. I can't believe she came with Bella and Rose here. Oh well, as long as I stayed here in my room, no war would start. And I was quite happy here. Just then my stomach had to grumble and disagree with me. I looked around in my room trying to find some chips or anything that I might have left in the room to eat, but there were only empty bags. I swore. God was not being fair to me here. I really didn't want to go downstairs to enemy territory and be questioned by Alice and her friends. I swore again when my stomach grumbled yet again. Fine, I would wait until those girls went to Alice's room. I'm sure they would soon enough and my stomach could wait a few minutes, so I went back to writing, trying to distract my mind.

A few minutes later, I heard Alice's room close and I knew the coast was safe to go downstairs and hunt. I could not wait any longer. So I tiptoed my way downstairs, trying to go unnoticed and once downstairs ran my way to the kitchen. But there was someone looking for something in the storage closet, and I sighed in defeat.

When she found what she was looking for, she closed the closet door and noticed me looking at her. "Edward" she called my name.

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Again, some comments are appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys!!! I am so happy you liked this story!!! And your comments are making me jump with joy!

So here's the new chappie. I'll try to upload one chapter each day, from monday thru friday. I'll spend the weekends writing the chapters, so if you can't read them during the week, I'll advice you take a few minutes and read on the weekends.

Again, I'll keep Bella and Edward's relationship on hold. Of course things will warm up sooner or later. You know how relationships go. Besides, as shitty as Edward can be (as one of you has clearly pointed out) he doesn't cheat. And he will not cheat on Tanya.

Hope you guys love this chappie. It's mostly if not all Edward's point of view.

Bye!!

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EPOV

"Edward" she called my name. Clearly startled. I groaned. Of all people in this house I had to bump with Rosalie.

"Rose. Looking for something?" I asked her and saw her holding a bag of Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies. Her favorite of course, just as Emmet pointed out one day.

"Actually… but I already found them. How about you? Hungry?" she offered me some of her cookies, but I declined, I didn't want to rob her from her food even if she was trying to be nice. I smiled. Better try to be civil. I know how nasty she can get when she wanted to, and right now I didn't have the energy to fight her. So I went to the closet and looked for some chips, anything really, just to clench my hunger. I tend to get irritated when I'm hungry.

"So, what are you doing at home? I thought the guys were playing ball today. Emmet was gloating about it today during lunch. Don't tell me Tanya is here" she asked me. Damn. I knew that she would do that, but why the hell does everyone think I have to spend every freaking minute of the day with that whore? It pissed me off how Jasper, Emmet, and Rosalie got to that conclusion each and every time.

Still hungry and getting irritated at everything I snapped. "No, she's not Rose. Contrary to what you all think, I don't want to spend all of my time with her. I have other things I like to do besides be with a girl who likes to fuck most of the male population in our class. So sorry if I'm bursting your bubble, but she's not here" I grabbed a bad of Ruffles and left her there.

Apparently I didn't walk fast enough because Rosalie stopped me in my tracks by asking me my most feared question. "What other things do you like to do?"

I just looked at her irritated and ignored her question. I did not feel like answering that one at the moment. So, I locked myself in my room again, and put my music on full throttle. I wanted to mute the laugher and female voices coming from my sister's room. I tried focusing on my story and in what was going on and thanked the lord that Rose did not comment about me to Alice or Bella. I did not want to be the center of their attention, nor that I ever was.

After an hour of frustrated sighs and running my hand through my hair, I couldn't take it any longer, so I left. I knew that by this time, the guys would have been finished playing, and they would probably be at Jasper's place grabbing some beers.

I rang the doorbell and saw Emmet open the door. "Hey man! Good to have you join us! Finished whatever you were doing?" he winked at me. It didn't take a genius to get what he meant by that. One of the first things that always went through his thick skull was sex.

Not wanting to give myself away, I smiled and lied. "Yeah. I feel better already".

Jasper was in the billiard room getting ready to shoot. He and Emmet were playing pool. When he saw me, he pointed to the bar with his eyes where a Corona was waiting for me. I smiled at him. Corona was my favorite brand of beer.

"So, how was the game? Did you win?" I asked both guys. Emmet was waiting for Jasper to finish his turn in the table and I was sitting in the bar.

"I hate to say it, but with Jasper we kicked ass" Emmet laughed hard. Jasper smiled and shook his head.

"You hate to say it cause' you're too proud for your own good Em. But I have to respect you for that. You were good too though. I may have been the one with the good reflexes but you were the strong one. Good when pitching" Jasper added.

"It would have been good to have you there bro. You're the fast one" Emmet told me.

"I know, but I didn't feel like playing today. Sorry guys" I sipped from the bottle.

"How about a match against me and Emmet?" Jasper offered. It was now Emmet's turn to play. It was clear and evident that Jasper was already beating him in the game.

"I could use some pool. I'll go when Emmet's done. This game seems to be almost over anyways" I joked. Emmet looked at me as if he wanted to kill me and just played his shot. Afterwards, Jasper went again and won the match. Then he put the balls together again, and I went first.

It helped to be around the guys. They didn't ask me weird questions or judge me at all. We were just relaxing and having a good time. We even joked around a lot. After a few rounds of pool, we went to the living room and watched the _Fast and the Furious_. One of my favorite movies. I just loved the cars that they used and how they crashed so much. Don't ask me to make it logical. I'm a guy and that should be answer enough.

"Hey Ed, if Carlisle could give you any car, which would you ask for?" Emmet asked me.

"Em, may I add here that dad did give me a car already. But since I didn't have a choice in the matter as to what car to get, I would say that given the choice I would get a Vanquish" I answered. Jasper and Emmet exchanged glances, started laughing and then threw themselves at me and attacked me. That's how we started fighting. We were playing with each other of course.

When the movie ended, and we ate three pizzas, two of which were gorged by Emmet, I said goodbye to the guys and left. I hoped that by now Bella and Rose would have left. I really didn't want to face either them. Luckily I was right. When I arrived I noticed Alice's car missing and figured she drove them back home,

Just as I parked the car, Carlisle and Esme arrived from work. They both looked tired and worn out. As the good son I try very hard to be, I went inside and prepared them a quick dinner. I may not be a gourmet chef, but I could defend myself in the kitchen. I never burned anything at least. Once dinner was ready I called them. I was pleased to see their happy faces once they noticed I cooked for them. Esme even gave me a hug, and coming from her, it meant a lot. She was the best mom anyone could ask for, and I wanted to keep her happy.

"How was work? Anyone die?" I asked. Morbid, I know. But they work at a hospital, what else would happen there? People got worse and died or they got better.

:"No. Thankfully no. Your mom was great today. The patients always love her there" Carlisle answered kissing Esme in the cheek. She just blushed and smiled proud fully. Carlisle was a general doctor at Seattle Grace Hospital and Esme was a nurse. That's how they met, fell in love, and how I came to be here. Seeing how affectionate my parents were getting, I said my good night and left them alone. They needed the privacy. In the hospital they were either on call or busy with another patient, I could imagine there was little time to be together.

Before going to sleep, I re read what I had written during the day, made some adjustments to my story and saved it. Tomorrow I could probably start another chapter.

The sun shone really bright when I woke up. It was Saturday. That would explain it all. Maybe it would be a good day to hang out with Emmet and Jasper at La Push. I could probably get a glimpse at that new bikini Tanya was saying she bought.

Reluctantly, I got up to eat breakfast. Alice had already left to God knows where, and Esme and Carlisle had left for work. I was alone. Crap. Just what time was it? Had I slept that much? It was just 9:30 in the morning. Wow! Alice left really early. Well, it isn't as if I cared.

I grabbed a box of cereal and started munching right out of the box. I didn't need the milk. I sat in the living room and started scanning the channels, trying to find something remotely interesting. There was nothing on. Damn TV companies, they always left the good shows for the evening when people can't watch them and then have to buy a fucking Tivo to record it and watch it later. Not that I complained about buying the Tivo, I just complained about not having anything remotely good to watch. It was a monopoly. One company helped the other. It was all about the money, and we the customers suffered the consequences in the end. Oh, well. If there's nothing there, might as well call Emmet and piss him off. It was early enough to get him really irritated for waking him up.

I grabbed my cell phone from my back pocket and dialed. It took four rings for Emmet to finally answer and all I got out was a grunt and I think an asshole. I was sure I heard that. I cracked up laughing. "Good morning to you too"

I don't fully understand what Emmet tried to say next but if I translate well I think I heard him say "what do you fucking want bastard?". I swear, he sounded like a caveman. And although I would feel pretty angry if I were him, I just had to enjoy this.

"Wanna go to the beach?" I asked him. He just responded with a "fine" and hung up. He was pretty annoyed by now. One minute later, my cell rang. It was Jasper this time. Wow, news really travel fast.

"Edward, although I do appreciate the sick joke you just tried to lay on Emmet, please take into consideration that he normally pays it out on me. If not for Emmet, have some consideration for me. I may have been awake already but Emmet was really pissed in the phone a while ago. And he asked me to kick your ass as soon as I saw you" he told me.

"Wow, he must be really tired if he's letting you do the ass kicking" I laughed out laud and Jasper laughed too. It was mean, I know it. But it was freaking hilarious. Emmett always liked to be the one included in the fight or doing the fighting. "But did he tell you about going to La Push?"

"Sure. I'll go and pick both of you. I think the girls were saying something about going too. Maybe I'll catch Alice and Emmet can see Rose. See ya in a minute" he hung up. He didn't even let me respond, maybe because he knew I would back out as soon as he said his last sentence and now I was trapped. Fuck him! If Alice and Rose were going to be there, it meant that Bella was certainly going to be there. I didn't want to see her. I was really looking forward to a weekend Bella-free. Why must life be so fucking unfair?

A few hours later, Jasper was in his Honda Accord honking the horn. I was not going. No way. He would have to freaking pull me and strap to that car, cause' I was not going. I am sounding like a baby, I know. But I don't want to go. Not anymore. Jasper honked the horn a couple more times and then came in, well actually, stormed in sounds more accurate.

"What the fuck man? Can't you hear us?" he asked.

"Look Jasper. I know what I said earlier. But I don't want to go anymore" I told him flatly. The thing is, if it were only Jasper and me, I could have won the argument. But he wasn't alone. He was smart as he always is, and picked up Emmet first. And Emmet being Emmet won't take a fucking no for an answer.

That's how I found myself strapped to the car seat in Jasper's Accord by Emmet's arms and as much as I struggled he wouldn't let me go.

As expected, everyone who was someone at Forks High School was at the beach. And that included Bella. When I spotted her, I couldn't believe my eyes. She was actually looking kinda… nice. She had a pink tankini on that gave her curves I hadn't noticed she had before. I might have just gone to her and said hello if I hadn't noticed a couple of arms holding her. I knew those arms. I hated those mother fucking arms. Well, I hated the person whose arms they belonged to. Damn it! I'm not making sense already.

I felt sick to my stomach just by watching Jacob Black embrace Bella. That asshole needed some serious psychological treatment, or maybe a punch to the face would work. I don't know exactly what got me about the dude, but I just couldn't bring myself to like him.

"Hey baby" I heard a woman whisper in my ear. Now, any man would have been jumping in joy right now. Me? I just wanted to run. Run as fast as my legs would let me. But instead I acted like the bigger man.

"Hey Tanya" I said back. She looked good in her black bikini which showed off most of her ass and boobs. Unlike Bella's swimsuit, it was very revealing. I tried to find it attractive, but somehow I found Bella's to be much sexier. I don't know why. Must be the sun. It was playing games with my eyes.

"Don't you like my swimsuit?" she asked me. What is it about girls and their clothing? It's like they have to fucking ask you if you like it every time they have something new.

"Um….sure….you look nice Tanya" I lied. I couldn't just come up and say she looked like a whore. Not if I wanted to avoid being slapped. I started to look for the guys frantically. I needed an escape. Finally I found Jasper getting some drinks from a cooler that probably belonged to the girls. I kissed Tanya in the cheek and ran.

Apparently Jasper didn't see me coming; by the way he reacted when he saw me. "Jesus! Edward. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" he asked, trying to catch his breath.

"No, I just needed to be away from Tanya" I admitted. If there was anyone I could confide in, it was Jasper. He was the understanding one. Emmet would probably think I was turning gay or something. But as understanding as Jasper could be, he still raised an eyebrow in question.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked. I decided to sit down and so did Jasper. This was going to be a long one.

"I don't…. I don't know… I really don't…but being with her… it just doesn't feel right anymore. It's like… I don't know man. Women are way too complicated" I tried to explain. Jasper only sighed, grabbed a beer from the cooler and gave it to me.

"Doesn't this belong to the girls? Why do they have beer in their cooler?" I asked him.

"Because Edward, Even those three girls…" and he pointed to Rose, Bella, and Alice who were playing beach volleyball. "Like to be wild once in a while".

And when he said these last words I couldn't help but imagine Bella being wild and felt a reaction in me. Wow! Where the hell did that come from?


	4. Chapter 4

Again, thank you so much for your comments. You are making me too happy!!! I never imagined that this story would be so good or that any of you would like it. And I do appreciate the fact that you don't mind Bella's and Edward's relationship being on hold. Believe me, it's not easy controlling these two. I never know what they are going to feel and when, specially Edward. Sometimes he wants Bella and is midly curious about her but other times, he just wants to avoid her completely. It's kind of childish but cute.

Well, I will shut up now before I give anything away. But let me say this, yes, Edward is starting to see the light and thank God he's getting sick of Tanya. Now, a question for you guys, what do you think of her? I know all you have are Edward's words, but from what he told you, what impression do you get?

Enjoy the chappie!! This time it's Bella's turn to star!!

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BPOV

I woke up this morning by the smell of something burning and clatter from the kitchen. I looked at my clock. It was only 8 in the morning. Who could be up this early on a Saturday? Only one person came to mind, and I groaned. It was too early for this. But then Charlie called from the stairs. Breakfast was ready.

I got up and put on a bathrobe to cover myself. Charlie was already drinking coffee and waiting for me in the kitchen.

"Hey kiddo! I thought it would be nice of me to cook you breakfast. Since you're always cooking for me during the week. I can't be too selfish" he said. I could sense he was nervous. He probably knew just as well as I did that he didn't fair well in the kitchen. But it was a nice gesture, so I smiled and sat down. He had made toast, fried eggs, and bacon. Nothing too complicated. Too bad they were the kind of food that got burnt easily, specially the bacon. But I appreciated it. After I was done eating I kissed Charlie in the cheek and went on to wash the dishes. He blushed and I couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

After eating I took a shower. I needed to wake up and part of me was still half asleep. Then I went downstairs and started cleaning the house. I tried very hard not to trip. But when my phone rang in my back pocket, I tripped with the vacuum cleaner's power cord and fell on my face. Thank God Charlie was no longer home to see this. He would have roared with laughter. I cursed in my mind, and answered the phone.

It was Alice. "Bella, are we still up to go to the beach today?" she asked. I sighed. I shouldn't have been surprised that she was up so early.

"Sure Al. At what time do you want to meet?" I asked her.

"Oh! Don't worry! I'll come pick up in a few minutes. Cya!" and she hung up. And when she said a few minutes, she really meant it. She was in my house 20 minutes later, kidnapping me. She was smart though. She picked me up before she went to look for Rosalie. As expected, she was not too happy to be woken up early on a Saturday. It was supposed be a day to rest, sleep in. With a friend like Alice? Not so much. That didn't stop Rosalie from bickering and fighting with Alice. When she finally got to the conclusion that she was getting no where she gave up. Damn, Alice was good.

"This better be good" Rosalie said changing clothes. She put on a white tank top and shorts. I was sure that she was wearing a very revealing bikini under that. I, as usual, was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans. I hated dressing up. Too bad Alice didn't like my fashion sense. She grabbed my arm, gave me a tankini and locked me in Rosalie's closet.

"You have five minutes to put that on. We'll be waiting downstairs. And believe me when I say this. I will be checking if you put that on" Alice said through the door and I could hear her and Rosalie go downstairs. Damn it! I didn't have any other choice, not if I knew Alice well. She meant every word she said. So, as a good girl, I put the stupid swim suit on, then my clothes over it and went downstairs.

The girls were in the kitchen packing the cooler with beer and other alcoholic beverages. I think I saw a few Smirnoff there. I asked if there was going to be any Cokes in there and they both laughed. I suddenly felt a bit nervous. I was not good with alcohol. The girls weren't going to listen to me though.

Half an hour later, we left. Alice was telling me that the guys were going to sleep in and I felt more relived. I didn't want to see Edward today. I wanted an Edward-free weekend and by God I was going to have it. I was going to La Push, I would see Jake and I would have a lot of fun. I'll be damned if Edward Cullen ruins it for me.

Jake was already seating in the sand when we arrived. He seemed thoughtful and I didn't want to keep him from thinking about whatever he was thinking. So I just sat behind him. But as much as I tried to be quiet, he sensed me. I swear to God, he is just as weird as Alice sometimes. He always knows if I'm near before I even get close to him. When he saw me he had a huge grin in his face and went to hug me. We both fell on the sand together. Him on top of me. Then he started tickling me like always.

We laughed together for a good time, then he helped me get up. "It's good to see you too Jake" I said.

"I missed you Bells. It's kind of lonely here without you" he told me.

I knew what he meant. I missed him a lot too. But with school and taking care of Charlie, I hardly had any time to see him during the week. And it didn't help that he had to go a school here in the Reservation. Away from me. Jake and I have been best friends since I started high school. I was going through some stuff when I met him and he helped me out. One of the things that I went through was actually Edward Cullen. He had just kissed me and I reacted by slapping him and crying. I didn't know what I felt back then, but Jake was a very good friend and helped me figure it all out. He told me the reason I slapped him was because I hated his guts. Which turned out to be true.

I excused myself to change into my bathing suit. The sun was so hot it was starting to burn my skin. I need to get out of these clothes soon! As soon as I came out of the changing room, Jake let out a loud whistle that called everyone's attention. I blushed and looked at the ground.

"You look really beautiful Bella. Let me guess, Alice picked it out for you" he guessed. Damn it! He knew me too well. I slapped him in the arm playfully. Just then our little pixie appeared, already wearing her very own bikini. It was black with white straps.

"Hey Jacob! Are any of the guys here already?" Alice asked him.

"Yeah, Leah and Sam are getting things ready in the tent…"he pointed behind them where a couple were preparing tables with food and refreshments. "Quil and Embry are choosing the right music. You are welcome to go and help either of them"

With these last few words Alice sauntered off to where Sam and Leah where. Rosalie had already set up a towel with a sun shade and was lying face down. Taking in the sun. I hope she remembered to put on sun screen.

"Hey Bella, wanna take a walk with me? We haven't talked in ages" Jake asked me. I smiled and took his hand. Let me clarify this before it's too late. Jake is one of my best friends, but that's all we are. Just good friends. There are no romantic feelings involved here. To be quite honest, I don't want a boyfriend right now and even if I did want one, I couldn't possibly consider Jake to be it. There were no sparks going off when I was with him. I just felt really comfortable around him. That's all.

"So, what's up? Have you met any special girl lately? Found the one?" I taunted him. He blushed.

"Nah. There's no one. School just seems boring. Of course leave it to Quil and Embry to try and make it fun though" he laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh! What did you guys do? Go to a strip club and bail out of school?" I joked. It was so easy to just make fun of Jake. He did the same with me.

:"Of course not! Bells, you have a dirty mind. You really do" he retaliated. I punched him in his arm, which he faked to feel very painfully. "I was just playing with you Bells. Nah! We went to a track and raced. Nothing big. Just spending some time. You know how it is" he finished. He then turned to face me. He was suddenly very serious. "Um…Bella….I….I want to…um…" he started stammering.

"Jake, whatever it is, just say it. There's no need to be nervous. It's me, remember? I'm like your sister after all" I smiled but then his face fell. I hurt him. I knew that much, but I didn't know why.

"Just forget it Bells. We better go and check up on how the guys are doing. Okay?" he finally said, avoiding eye contact with me.

I grabbed his arm and tried to read his thoughts, but failed miserably. "What's wrong Jake? Did I say something…" I asked. He just shrugged and looked away. I knew that it would be best to just let it go, so I did. And we walked back to where Leah and Sam were.

Once in a while I would steal a glance at Jacob and try to figure out what I did wrong and what I said that upset him suddenly. No answer came to mind. Just then I recognized Jasper's car in the parking lot and saw Edward Cullen come out. He was angry though. As if he didn't want to be here and came forcefully. He probably found out I would be here. I went back to what I was doing. What was I doing? Oh! right. I was getting some chips. Why did I get distracted?

After finishing in the tent, Leah told me to go have fun. I couldn't argue. I had come to do just that. So I went to where Alice was with Jasper. An arm stopped me in my tracks. It was Jake. He looked still upset and had puppy eyes. Damn it! I was weak with those brown puppy eyes of his. They were clearly asking, forgive me? I smiled back and he hugged me really tight. He was the same Jake again.

I felt a pair of eyes looking at me and saw Edward. He looked even more pissed than before. I wondered what had him like that, but then looked away. I was not going to let him upset me. This was going to be my day. So I took Jacob's hand and invited Alice and Rosalie to a match of beach volleyball. Jasper declined saying that he would prefer to just watch and drink a beer. So, we ended up having Quil, Embry, Sam Jacob, Emmet, Rosalie, Alice and I playing. We were four against four. Of course, Emmet wanted to play opposite Rosalie. It was hilarious. Sometimes we scored and he would say he let us win. But Alice and I knew all to well Rosalie was just using her charms, a.k.a boobs to distract Emmet. The teams were, on one side, Emmet, Jacob, Sam and Embry. On the other were us and Quil. He was the lucky one because he got stuck with the ladies.

In the end, my team won. Jake was shaking his head. Emmet was cursing out loud still surprised he lost. I laughed my heart out. Again I felt someone watch me. When I looked to my right I saw Edward, in all his glory. He was just wearing his shorts now, revealing his chest. It was the first time I noticed him like that. Now I knew why the girls at school wanted him so much. He looked like a freaking God without his shirt on. And his green eyes were piercing me, as if trying to read me like a book. I don't know where these thoughts came from and shook my head. I was just delirious, that's all. There was no way I was getting attracted to him. I blamed the sun. It was really hot.

When I looked back at Edward, he was gone. I probably just imagined everything. He couldn't have been watching me. It was probably someone else. I tried looking to my left and guessing who it was, but she was no where to be seen. Tanya was not here. So who the hell could Edward have been watching?


	5. Chapter 5

Okay. I have a test in a few minutes and can't write much. As soon as I'm done I'll write my comments.

Thanks for the reviews people. Keep them coming!

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EPOV

The party went on for a while. I didn't come back home till it was past 11. Esme and Carlisle were already asleep and the house was completely dark. I came back alone. Well, not exactly. Bella was with me. Let me rewind so you will understand what happened.

Bella's team won the volleyball match much to my surprise. I knew for a fact that Emmet was good at almost every sport imaginable. But then again, he was corrupted. Rosalie was in his opposite team, and if he won the match she would get in a fit and he would end up losing. No matter how you saw it, Emmet was going to lose. Poor man. Now I understood why Jasper preferred not to play. He was smart. And after the game, Alice was giddy and happy and more than caring with him. Now he was a winner.

The way Bella laughed and her cheeks looked all red from the heat of the sun made something in me churn. She looked like a little girl in Christmas day. When we locked eyes I couldn't stop it. I wanted her to look at me. Her eyes were questioning and I couldn't really blame her. As far as she knew, I hated her. But now, I don't know. I don't know what the hell is wrong with me. A few hours ago I wanted to avoid meeting her, but now, I wanted to be by her side. It all came out of nowhere.

When I noticed she changed her direction, I got up and left. I knew that if I sat there a minute longer I wouldn't be able to take my eyes off her and she might think I had an infatuation for her or something like that. Which is completely wrong. I just found her kind of cute. That's all. There's nothing wrong in that. What am I saying? She's fucking Bella Swan! I'm supposed to hate her very existence. Why now? This whole week was getting to me. I was spending too much time with her. Two hours of classes every day with her was affecting my brain and was making me feel things that I don't want to feel. It's all in my head.

That's right. It's all in my head. I'll keep on repeating that in my mind and make it my mantra.

I went to the tent where Sam and Leah were clearly making out. Although it repulsed me to see them at it, I just grabbed a few chips and left them to their business. I didn't want to be a bother. Then tried to find something to do. I couldn't ask Emmet to go surfing with me cause' he was with Rosalie, Jasper was with Alice, and well, to be honest. There was no one else. I wasn't going to talk to Tanya. Not after the way I treated her the last time I saw her. I mean, I ran away from her, remember? I couldn't just go to her as if nothing happened. Besides, I didn't want to be with her.

Just when I was walking to Jasper to ask for his car keys so that I could cruise around, Jacob Black stopped me by tapping me shoulder. I was surprised at first, but then I was curious. What did he want? He looked troubled and pissed. Well, I wasn't too happy to see him either.

"Yes Jacob? What can I do for you?" I asked him, trying to be polite. I didn't want to start a fight.

"I saw how you looked at Bella" he told me flatly. I raised an eyebrow in question and smirked.

"And is there something wrong with that?" I laughed.

"Whatever you have planned to do to her, if you lay just one finger on her, I'll be the first to kick your sorry ass. So stay the hell away from her you bastard" he warned and started leaving but I grabbed his arm and looked at him directly in the eyes. Now he got to me. No one threatened me. It did not matter what he said but the way he said it. That got me pissed.

"Nothing and no one will stop from getting her. And that includes you. If I want her I'll have her. Got that?" I smiled and let him go. I swear, if looks could kill I would have already been dead. Jacob had a murderous look on his face but did nothing about it. We didn't get in a fight or anything. He just left. Coward. Probably knew I could smash his face in a second.

Turns out I didn't have to look for Jasper anymore. He came to me after watching me talk with Jacob. He was worried I was going to start a fight and didn't want me to start a scene. And he gave me his car keys. No questions asked. Not even a "don't smash my car". He trusted me. Or at least trusted me now cause' I was not wasted. So far I've only drank one bottle.

I just needed to get out and breathe. Everyone that was at La Push were people I already knew and saw on a daily basis. I didn't want to see them again. Or talk to them. Maybe I just wasn't in the partying mood. Which was weird of me. Normally, by this time I would have already drank at least three bottles and would have Tanya in between my legs, her soft breasts cupped in my hands.

I walked for a while in the Mall. There were couples everywhere. Ugh! Didn't people have anything better than go out on a date? Right. It was Saturday. That was what people did. Seeing everyone, with their hands in each others, it made me feel lonely. I wanted that with someone. Maybe.

Ok. What the hell is wrong with me? Since when did I think like that?

Bella's voice came to mind. "You're so cold Edward! I admit that this world is far from perfect, given all the bloodshed and all the killing there is on a daily basis, but still, I would prefer a world where there's love and hate than a world without either of them! It would be so lonely to be without that feeling. To be…machines" she had said one day in Mr. Gibb's class.

Was that what I was turning into? A machine? Was she right? I shook my head and decided to just forget about it. There was no meaning to ponder over something as trivial as that. It was not important.

After a half hour of walking by myself, I decided to go back. Jasper might want his car back. It was still 6 when I came back. The guys were either surfing playing in the water. The party was still in full swing. I could spot Jasper and Emmet in the tent grabbing on some munchies. They looked like they were both starving. Luckily for them I had stopped by a Burger's King and ordered some combos. Three of which were for Emmet. I was sure he could gorge it all, given the state he was in at the moment.

When they both saw me they almost attacked me. Well, Emmet almost attacked me. Jasper just stood there laughing. I dodged Emmet and he fell on the sand.

"Wow! Dude. Do you want to the food or not? Cause' you are more than welcome to eat some sand. By all means be my guest. I can give these burgers to Rosalie and Alice" I told him laughing. Emmet was about to pounce again but thought better of it.

"Give me my food you fucking bastard" he told me and extended his right hand. I handed him the bags. The third one I gave to Jasper.

We both sat under the girl's parasol. No one said a thing so I had to break the silence. "What happened? Looks like someone died" I said.

"Ed. We haven't eaten since, well, I haven't eaten since last night. I wasn't able to eat any breakfast because someone woke me up early and got me out of the house" he accused looked at me. He was half right. I did wake him up early. But I didn't get him out of the house. That was all Jasper's work. Jasper, however, just sat eating silently. I looked at him in question.

"What? Alice is busy doing girl stuff. God knows what that is, but she wanted to somewhere with Bella and Rosalie. That's how we ended up alone" he answered and kept on eating.

"And where did they go? Did they say?" I was curious. There was not much for girls to do at this beach. I didn't get an answer though. The guys just shrugged.

After eating we decided to race and so got in our motor boats.

BPOV

"Alice, where are you taking me?" I asked. She was pulling on my arm and I didn't know where she was leading me to. Rosalie just followed behind, completely quiet, as if she were in on the surprise too.

We arrived at a house I hadn't seen before. It was similar to Jacob's. They both looked like abandoned cabins in the middle of nowhere. But this was more clean and organized and it had two floors. Alice pulled me upstairs to a room that I could guess belonged to a girl. It didn't take me long to put the pieces together. We were at Leah's house. But why?

Alice opened a closet door and showed me a dress. I looked at the dress she was holding in her arms and back at her. then shook my head and started to leave. I didn't get far though. I didn't even make it out the door since Rosalie was blocking it.

"Rose, you…" I started saying.

"Told you were going to pay" she smiled. Pure evilness.

"Bella! You are going to put on this dress and go back out even if I have to be the one to dress you. This is the last party of the summer. We have to look good" she told me.

I turned around to face her. "Why do I have to look good? You are the ones with boyfriends! Not me" I responded and sighed. No matter what argument I used, Alice was always going to win. No use fighting now. Besides, the dress was not that bad. Actually, it was very pretty. It was white with green flowers. It was short enough and was sleeveless. I grabbed from Alice's hands and started changing.

The guys were clearly racing when we came back. Even Jacob had joined in. When he saw me, his jaw dropped and I couldn't help stifle a laugh. And his wasn't the only one. Emmet and Jasper both looked at their respective girlfriends with same expression. And considering what they were wearing; white dresses like mine but with different patterns and shorter. Alice's had roses and Rose's had pink flowers.

"Bella, you look very beautiful" Jacob told me. I blushed.

"Thank you Jake" I replied. Again, for the third time I made eye contact with Edward. His eyebrow was raised in surprise and wonder. Then he walked away, with no words. I didn't give it a second thought. Edward had always been like that,

EPOV

Why did this keep on happening to me? Every time I saw Bella I couldn't help but feel something. It was fucking irritating. As I grabbed a beer at the girl's cooler I scanned the place for a sweet babe to spend the night with. I needed a distraction and thankfully right now there were hundreds. I spotted a beautiful brunette walking with a friend but when I looked closely, Bella came to mind. Ok, no brunettes. I looked for a blonde, and found one walking towards Sam's place by herself. She seemed upset about something and so decided to talk to her. Just strike a friendly conversation.

It turns out the blonde was Tanya. I hadn't looked at her well from so far and didn't recognize her. She was now wearing a black shirt to cover her body. I thought about finding another girl, I was sure anyone would suffice. But looking at her cry propelled me just go for it. So, I tapped her shoulder and she turned around. Her big blue eyes were now so red due to all the tears and she seemed pissed with me.

"What? Did you come to finish it?" she asked me in between sobs. I was taken aback. I hadn't expected for her to say that.

"Um… finish what? What happened Tanya?" I asked her. I tried comforting her with my hand but she pushed by arm away.

"Stop it! I know you wand it. Us. Everything. Don't think I haven't noticed how you're been avoiding me! How you ran away from me this morning. How you didn't want to talk to me that day after school. It's like every time I try to get close to you, you just push me away. What happened Edddie? Don't you want me anymore?" she started crying even more know. She was on her knees. I looked around and could see people staring at us.

"Sorry Tanya. For…for everything. For hurting you like I'm doing now. I swear I didn't mean to. I'm just going thru some stuff. Please me patient with me" I begged her. I pulled her face with my hands and wiped a tear from her eyes.

Then she said the three words I never expected to hear from anyone except for my parents. "I love you". That took the words out of my brain. I couldn't think. I didn't know how to respond. I couldn't just tell her, sorry but I don't feel the same way. You just don't do that. And not when the other person is on the verge of tears.

So I said the first thing that came to my mind. "Thank you". And left her. I am afraid to say it but I ran like a coward. Well, walk away is more like it. I didn't even stay to see if she was okay. I just got up and left. Damn! I am going to burn in hell for this. I am a bastard. An asshole.

The part was now between the beach and Sam's house. Some people were inside making out and others were dancing. I was planning on getting inside when I saw a couple of guys with a girl who seemed to be tipsy. Clearly she had too much too drink and was far gone. The guys were trying to convince her to drink some more and one of them was even kissing her and touching her. I was going to let them do what they wanted. After all, it was the girl's fault for getting drunk. Normally when they got like that it was because they wanted to be easy. I knew many girls that got like that so it was no big deal.

But then I noticed the curly brown hair and the dress. It took me just a minute to put two and two together and know that the girl was Bella. When the hell had she drank so much and why? Weren't the girls taking care of her? I looked to the beach and the house and knew that indeed the girls were distracted at the moment. I could have left Bella to those guys. My old self would have done just that. But something inside me just called out and told me to do what was right for the first time. Maybe it was all because I saw Tanya hurt and I didn't feel like watching someone else hurt.

Id didn't matter what it was, but I wasn't going to let those son's of botches touch Bella anymore. I approached the two guys. "What the hell do you think you two mother fuckers are doing?" I asked. My blood was pulsing and I could myself tense.

"What the fuck do you care asshole? We are just having fun with this piece of beauty" one of them said and started lifting Bella's skirt. I grabbed the guy's shirt collar and punched him in the face. I was sure he was bleeding now. "What the…." he asked and tried to strike back. But I dodged him in time and kicked him in the guts with my knee. He feels to floor clutching his stomach. The other dude had let go of Bella and went for me too, but I kicked him too and like his partner he fell to the floor. I grabbed Bella in my arms and was going to take her home but remembered I didn't have a car.

Just then Jacob came carrying a pair of drinks. He looked at me holding Bella and started protesting but I pointed to the floor with my eyes and he looked down. Then he shut up. "Call Jasper and tell me to give me the car keys. I need them". He was going to respond but I started walking and so he left. A minute later he was back with the keys and helped me put Bella in the backseat. Gently and carefully not to wake her up. Although we both knew well she was cold and gone for the moment.

Before I left I asked Jacob. "Who gave her the liqueur?"

"I don't know. But whoever it was, if I ever found the asshole who did this, I'm going to make him regret the day he was fucking born" he answered and walked away. It was quite nice of him to let me be the one to take Bella back. Probably because he wanted to find the one who did this to her and kick his ass.

I was going to take Bella to her place. I really was. I was not planning in taking advantage of her. Not that I even wanted to. I didn't want Bella that way. Whatever I had felt during the day was history. But I couldn't take her back home. I knew that Charlie was probably going to raise questions and wanted to avoid them.

That's how she ended up taking my bed and I slept downstairs in the sofa.


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you people!!! You have been the best readers in the wide world!!! I love you all!!!

Well, here is another chappie. As promised. It might not be much. I only ask that you remember I am only the writers. The characters are acting on their own. I have NO control over them. So if you feel that someone was being stupid or anything of that sort, don't complain about it. I mean, it's Bella and Edwrad we're talking about here. They are what? 17 and 16? They are teenagers!!! And for most of the time they've hated each other or tried to ignore ecah other's existence. So, unavoidably, things will be awkward.

Other than that, I have nothing else to say. Enjoy!

I will be uploading Chapter 7 on monday. Cya then! Have a good weekend. : )

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BPOV

When I woke up I could feel my head hurting so much. It felt like someone hit me really hard against a wall. And I couldn't remember what had happened the night before. Everything was fuzzy. The last thing I could remember was talking to Jake and he handed me a drink, then… I tried forcing my brain to work out the details but it hurt me even more. Damn hangovers! How did Rose and Alice ever do it? They would always look better the next day after a late night. I seriously needed a painkiller. Give me Advil or Tylenol and you are my God.

I squinted my eyes and thanked the lord that the room was dark, there was no light and it was all quiet. Too quiet. Where was Charlie? Had he gone to work already? No, it couldn't be. It was Sunday. He didn't work on Sunday. I couldn't even hear him snore which meant he was awake but then again, there was no sound coming from downstairs. As I focused my sight I finally noticed. I was not home. This was not my room. And this was certainly not my bed. Something happened last night. Where the hell was I? Whose room was this? I looked around trying to find anything familiar but there was nothing. The room had blue wallpaper which could mean it was a guy's room. Although some girls liked the color blue. Who am I kidding? I am in a guy's bedroom. The question left is, what the hell am I doing in a guy's room? I thought of all the possibilities of what could have happened and only one thing came to mind. And it was not pleasant. I covered myself with the sheets and hoped to die.

Just then I heard someone using the bathroom. Whoever brought me here was still here. I pretended to be asleep as he came in the room. I didn't want to face whoever brought me here. If I could, I would find a way to just leave without being noticed. That was the plan. Turns out I didn't need to do that. The guy just grabbed a few stuff from his desk and left. And he never came back.

As soon as I was alone I grabbed my stuff and left the room. As soon as I was in the hallway It all kind of made sense. There were still some questions left unanswered. Of one thing I was completely sure; I was at the Cullen's place. And if my logic served me right, I was in Edward's room. I walked down the stairs tiptoeing. I tried to be as quiet as a human being could be without falling or tripping over something. Leave it to fate or God to just make your plans go awry. Because behind me Edward called out my name. I stopped dead on my tracks. I didn't turn around. I was not going to talk to him. I had nothing to say to him.

"Bella, you're awake. How's your head feeling?" he asked me nonchalantly.

"Um… I'm fine thanks. It's okay. I… I better just go" and I started to leave but as soon as I opened the door and the sun shone on my face I couldn't handle it. It made my head hurt even more than before so I got back in. I was on my knees trying to breathe. And Edward was leaning in front of me. He handed me a pill with a glass of water. I looked at him dubiously. After whatever happened yesterday, I was not taking anything from him. God knows what he wanted from me. Maybe he wanted to continue whatever happened last night.

"Take it. I'm not drugging you. If I wanted you high I would have taken advantage of you last night. It was pretty obvious you were more than willing" he told me with a smirk. I completely blushed. I still wasn't sure he wasn't lying. But his words stung and I wanted to hit him. He was being a complete ass.

"Fine. Have it your way" he strode off. My head was really hurting and I really wanted that pill. But my conscience was not having it. It wouldn't let me accept it.

"How can I be sure that nothing happened? Everyone knows that you take advantage of girls when they're vulnerable or under the influence. This wouldn't be the first time!" I snapped. Immediately I knew I said the wrong words because he was mad. No, he was beyond that. He was pissed.

"Contrary to what you think Bella. I am not like those pigs. And if you ever compare me with them again, I will make you regret it and nothing will stop me from taking advantage of you. So be careful with your words" he told me and left me. I felt as if I received a blow to the stomach. I had never noticed it before but when Edward was angry, he could be very scary. I almost about cried in front of him. And as much as I wanted a Tylenol at the moment, I also wanted to just run away from here. Again I tried to leave but remembered I went with Alice to that party. I didn't have a car. Damn it!

I had no other choice but to wait till Alice woke up which could be 12 freaking in the afternoon. How was I going to survive till then? I couldn't just go to the living room because Edward was watching a show there and spending the next hours with him was not the smartest tactic. I should have looked like an idiot in the entrance because Edward came back with an annoyed look in his face.

"You can wait in the living room. I'm not going to bite" He commented. I raised an eyebrow in wonder. "As long as you keep your mouth shut" he added. Now that, I could manage. I was used to silence. It was the same as watching a ball game with Charlie. That's how I ended up spending the morning with Edward. None of us spoke and it worked out well. I still wanted to ask him so many questions but thought that it would be best not to push the subject any further.

Sometimes I would steal a glance at Edward. He looked so focused on the program we were watching. Not once did he blink and he didn't look away. In all my years that I knew Edward, it was always uncomfortable and awkward. Just like now. I looked at the clock in the wall and begged God for time to go a bit faster. I couldn't even concentrate on the show we were watching. It was torture.

EPOV

I don't know what propelled me to ask Bella to wait in the living room and spend hours of torture with me. But part of me wanted to be with her. I know I snapped earlier with her comment. But seriously! Just remembering what those guys were trying to do to her made me want to kick something. I couldn't believe Bella's words. Maybe I'm a martyr and liked to be bitched slapped cause' I've already been insulted and hurt more than once this weekend. Believe it or not, watching Tanya so sad hurt me. Sue me! I'm a guy with feelings. It's not like I'm crying over it. I just feel… overwhelmed. And having Bella next to me, so quiet, was just making me even more anxious. What the hell happened to Alice?

I tried opening up a conversation with her. She must be really bored by now. God knows I am. "Um…Bella…um…if you want we can watch something else" I said. I wanted to hit myself with a wall. Damn it! I was being an idiot here. Of all things I could have said that was what came out of me. I know people sometimes are left without anything to say, but at least they talk about the fucking weather. What do I talk about? I ask her if she wanted to change the fucking channel as if she felt she couldn't ask. Fuck. What the hell is wrong with me? Normally I'm good with chicks. It isn't this hard to be with them.

"No, don't worry. I can see you're interested in the show and I don't want to be a bother" she replied. I looked at her surprised. She thought I liked Seinfield? I wasn't even paying attention to the episode or what Kramer was telling Seinfield just a second ago. What gave Bella the impression that I enjoyed what I was watching? I was just trying to avoid eye contact with her. I changed the channel to the Food Network. That was another thing about me that not many people knew. Well, only my family knew. I liked to cook and my favorite show was 30 minute Meals with Rachel Ray. It was very entertaining and useful when you have only a few minutes to prepare something for your parents. I could feel Bella staring at me and looked back. "You don't have to watch this for me. I don't really like the channel anyways" she said.

"I didn't put it on because of you. I…" I rolled my eyes. "I like the channel, ok? Just don't repeat that piece of information to anyone or die" I told her. She laughed. Her smile made her look more beautiful than she already was. Why did I ever think she was not pretty? Oh! Right. She was always scowling at me before.

"Oh! I wouldn't want to tarnish the reputation of the great Edward. What would the female population of Forks High School think? What would Rose do to you!" she taunted.

"Wanna go there? Are you threatening me? No, are you blackmailing me?" I joked back. I was going to go and tackle her but Alice appeared in the room. It all became quiet again. I turned around pretending nothing happened.

When Alice spotted Bella I knew there was nothing that could save her. She hugged the girl and practically attacked her. I knew that was my queue to leave. I went back to my room and locked myself as usual with the music as loud as possible.

What had happened a while ago? Did I actually laugh with Bella Swan. No, I didn't only laugh. I flirted and I'm sure she flirted back. That was it, right? Maybe she liked me to some degree. But I was not about to have a repeat of last time. If I tried to get close to that girl I was sure to end up bitch slapped again. And that wouldn't be good. I was not looking forward to that.

I needed to clear my mind. Yesterday was not a good day, definitely. So, to solve my issues I did what I always did. I wrote. And afterwards I started my homework. As I read _The Devil's Feather_ I couldn't help but imagine Bella's comments. She would probably say how sick people could be and how repulsed she was at the way the main character was treated. This project was definitely going to be interesting with her as a partner.

BPOV

I said my prayers when Alice came in. She just saved me from a weird moment with Edward. I don't know what he was going to do but he seemed to have something on his mind. I don't know what happened a few minutes ago. Did Edward actually flirt with me? I had to be imagining things. Besides, just thinking about it made my head hurt so badly. I remembered the pill Edward wanted me to take and given the conditions I was in, I swallowed it. I will have to thank Edward later. Even if he will probably just make fun of me for being so stubborn.

"Drank too much last night?" Alice asked me. I looked at her confused. She should know if I drank too much.

"Weren't you with me last night?" I asked her.

"Nope. You left with Jacob. I don't know where you went. Probably to Sam's place. And after that…I remember Jacob asking Jasper for his car keys. He said that Edward needed them. He looked worried now that I remember" Alice answered.

Jacob asked Jasper for his car keys? For Edward? Why on earth would he do that? Nothing was making sense. If anything Jacob would want to stop Edward. They both hated each other. Why would Jacob help Edward? What happened last night?

"Alice, did Jacob say what had happened?"

"Nope. He was in a hurry and Jasper didn't ask anything. Of course, I was wondering where you were and if anything happened to you, but a few minutes later Jacob told us that Edward took you back home. Did you come to see how I was doing Bellie?"

So, Alice didn't know I slept here. She probably came back home late with Jasper and didn't know I was here. Now it was all too suspicious. Why would Edward keep it a secret? Nothing made sense anymore. Thankfully the Tylenol was making its effect and I felt sort of better. Alice told me everything I missed last night. Apparently Emmet knew hot to dance pretty well from what she told me. And Jasper told a few mean jokes about him. I even missed a game of truth or dare.

"One day Bella we will include you in the game. You can be sure of that" she warned me. Shit, I hated truth or dare. I was never good at it and I always got picked on.

Suddenly my stomach grumbled making Alice laugh. I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. And all I ate then was a sandwich. I didn't even get anything for dinner. No wonder I was feeling weird. I needed food. We both went to the kitchen and got some Hot Pockets warmed up. It all tasted so good that I was actually beaming with joy.

"Bella, I swear you can be so weird sometimes" Alice laughed.

"Why? Can't a girl eat and enjoy it?" I asked.

"Yeah but…" Alice started to answer but Edward beat her to it. He came looking for something to eat too.

"Most girls we know don't eat like you do. They worry too much about their weight and if they look good in whatever clothing they are wearing. In simpler words, they worry too much about what other people think. Which is just plain stupid" he stated. He grabbed a plate with pizza and went back up. I couldn't ask him why he said that.

"Don't listen to Edward Bellie. He makes no sense most of the time. After all he is dating the queen of all worrying. I mean, every day she has to have a different outfit and every week a different bag. Can you believe that?" and it went on and on. I knew she was talking about Tanya and I also knew she was jealous of her. Alice wanted to be like Tanya and have it all. But her credit card funds were limited. Carlisle and Esme didn't give her that much money to be honest and I applauded them for that.

I don't know why, but my mind drifted again to Edward and wondered what he could be doing in his room. He always locked himself there. He couldn't have that much homework. And then there was last night. I still wanted to know. Maybe I needed to be Sherlock Holmes for a few days and investigate.

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Don't forget to comment.


	7. Chapter 7

I know I've failed you people. Sorry!! But in my defense I got a really bad cold this weekened and just couldn't bring myself out of bed. My fever was killing me! So sorry again but I don't have any new chapters to upload this week. I just have CHAPTER 7.

As soon as I'm back and free, I'll write some more. I just can't handle Bella and Edward in my current state. They would end up giving me a headache with their constant confusion and ackwardness.

If you don't want to comment, fine! But you guys dissapointed me too. The minute I stop uploading a chapter you stop writing and asking for more. It's like there are no more people reading. Sad (sigh)

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BPOV

_Sweet love_

_Yeah_

_I didn't mean it when I said I didn't love you so_

_I should have held on tight_

_I never should have let you go_

_I didn't know nothing_

_I was stupid_

_I was foolish_

_I was lying to myself_

I sang as I read my biology book. I liked this song and the video was one of my top favorites. Alice and Rosalie always made fun of me because of that. And I do admit that Mariah had her bad days but she is back in all her heavenly glory. She always had a good voice; so sweet and beautiful. I wish I could sing like her. But Charlie always said I was terrible.

I sighed. There was no way I could be ready for this test, no matter how much I tried to concentrate. I couldn't understand many of the terms very well. Maybe I am stupid. Now that I think of it, Edward was always the one with all the answers. How did he know so much? Oh! Right. He has Jasper. Why couldn't I have a friend like him? Alice was smart but she would feel bored with biology and wouldn't be much help. Rosalie was…well she was special. She was good at any class she took. She was not the science type. She preferred classes like psychology. Okay, I know that's a science, but not one where you have to measure something or do any real math. You know what I mean.

So that left me with no help at all. I was stuck. Well, I am just going to have to fail this class. At least I won't have Edward as a partner next time. I shook my head. What was I saying? I can't fail a class and was not going to. I wouldn't be able to live it down. Not with Edward. He would make fun of me for the rest of my life. I shuddered just at the though. Okay, I have to focus. I still have a few days before the dreaded test. I could still get ready. The test is scheduled for Friday. Maybe I'll find a tutor by then.

This all sounded all good in my head, reality was different however. Everyone kept on saying they had plans or just had too much homework. By Monday afternoon I was bummed. Biology came and I felt more and more nervous. I tried to pay attention to the teacher but I just couldn't stop fidgeting. Edward seemed to notice something wrong with me because he talked to me after class finished. I was just putting my stuff in my bag when I heard him clear his throat. I looked at him surprised.

:"You seem kind of….distracted. Is something wrong?" he asked. Was he worried? I put my bag on and walked out of the classroom. He followed.

"It's nothing. It's just… nothing. Really. Forget it. Okay?" I told him but he wouldn't take no for an answer. Why did he have to be like this? It confused the hell out of me and it irritated me not to know what he was thinking.

"Bella. I know I am not you favorite person in the world. But try to humor me here. Something is troubling you isn't it? You can tell me" his velvety voice said. Damn it. If he talked like that, it would only make me wish. Was this how he did it? Was this how he conquered all the girls? How he got them to be his? Was I going to be another one of his victims? No, I couldn't, I wouldn't. I was not going to fall for Edward Cullen.

"I appreciate your concern Edward, but it's none of your business" I felt a stab in the back and saw Tanya looking at us and turned back to Edward. Perfect. "Maybe you should worry about your own problems". I stated and left.

I don't know what he was thinking at the moment but he had Tanya. She was freaking perfect; practically a Barbie doll. He couldn't possibly feel attracted to me and I didn't feel attracted to him either so it was best if I just left my relationship with him strictly as lab partners and project partners, if such a thing exists. I was not going to fall in his trap.

That afternoon I went over my math homework and kept on studying for biology. This time I tried highlighting the terms that were confusing so that I could ask Mrs. Steiffer the next day. My pride kept me going. I didn't want to lose against Edward. I know he's supposed to be valedictorian in his class and he's graduating early, but I want to be valedictorian too. I want to step on that platform and give my speech. Although thinking really well about it, Edward will not be able to do that. Graduation is after spring semester. By then Edward will probably have finished his first semester in college. There was something weird though. I though Jasper was supposed to be the smart one in the group, how is it that Edward got a higher GPA than him? Well, maybe Jasper will be giving the speech in his absence. Either way, I was not going to lose to him. If he could reach the highest spot in the senior class, I was going to top that score.

It is weird once you see it through my eyes. Edward is popular no matter how you look at it. And he doesn't even hang out with the jocks. He doesn't play any sport in particular. Emmet is the one who excels in that area. He is the head of the school football team, the top dog in the school. But still, Edward is the one people admire; including the teachers. How did that happen? It seemed illogical. How come that Edward who doesn't really excel in any particular field is so damn popular in school? No matter how much I thought about it, it didn't make any sense at all. Normally people would make fun of him for being too good at something, but no one messed around with him.

Damn it! Why did I start thinking about that? I'm supposed to be figuring out this stuff in biology. Not thinking about that asshole. Okay, what was I reading?

EPOV

I cursed silently as Bella walked away from me. I wanted to reach out to her and talk to her, but my legs wouldn't move. Heck! My entire body wouldn't move. I was frozen. And she was right. Before I could worry about her, I had to solve my own issues. First in the list was talking to Tanya. I had to end it once for all with her. It was not fair to keep on giving her false hope. I knew now how I felt. And I didn't love Tanya. I didn't even see her as a girlfriend, just a fling. That's all it was for me. And now, the fling was over.

Tanya walked by me and was about to walk away from me, but I grabbed hold of her arm and she turned around to face me. But she wasn't really facing me, she was looking at the floor, her head low. That made it more difficult for me to say what I had to say. Have you ever been in the position where you have some really bad news and you know it will probably break someone's heart or give her disappointment? Well, that was my position right now. And I was feeling pretty shitty about it too. And it did not help that people were walking by us and watching our little scene. Although there was really no scene. We weren't even talking. I tried finding the right words to say but none came to mind. Usually when Tanya and I broke up, it was in the heat of an argument. But this time it was different. This time it would be permanent. I wasn't going to back down.

I decided that it might not be the best idea to do it right here in school, where everyone could hear us. "Tanya…we have to talk". I told her. "Can you please meet me at Arby's after school?"

There was no response from her but I figured she would go. She just didn't want to face me right now. And I couldn't blame her. I've been the worst boyfriend ever to her. I don't know what came over me, but everything started to make sense for me. I finally understood that Tanya and I were never meant to be together. We didn't even match. She hated reading any kind of book and thought that the Cooking Channel and soccer were boring. I may not be Hispanic but I had to agree that soccer rocks! I loved playing in the field. Too bad the school doesn't have a soccer team. That would have been the best thing.

After biology I had PE which was just a waste of time, but I wasn't about to complain. I needed the class. And it helped that Jasper and Emmet were also taking the class. I needed to hang around them for a while before I went and faced one of the biggest dramatic events of my life.

"What's up Ed? You look kind of glum" Emmet commented.

"I'm going to break up with Tanya" I confessed. Emmet and Jasper looked at each other and then back at me.

"Again? And how long is this one going to last?" Jasper joked. I didn't laugh. I looked at both them with my most serious face and they both knew instantly that this was no joke. I was decided.

"Forever. I can't date her anymore. It would be unfair to her. And as much as I like to be an asshole because I know I am one. She has been a good friend to me guys. She doesn't deserve being with a lowlife like me" I explained. The guys just kept silent until Jasper broke the silence.

"Edward, I've known you for a long time and I know you're not a lowlife. You have dated a lot of girls before you met Tanya, ergo your status as a player, but you've never played with a girl's feelings. You were always honest, and that's something not many guys are. If you feel that this is what you want to do, then don't let anything stop you. I'm actually proud of you man. You're growing up" Jasper smiled. That's why he was one of my closest friends; he understood. Maybe he was bit on the feminine side, but that was cool. I needed advice like the ones he gave me a lot. Emmet made fun of him a lot, but even he admitted at times that he couldn't be half of the man he was now if it weren't for Jasper. And coming from someone as proud as Emmet, it meant a lot.

After class was over, we all took a shower and left. Jasper was going to take Alice to the movies and Emmet and Rosalie were joining them. I said my goodbyes and headed straight for Arby's. Tanya was not there yet by the time I arrived, so I picked a table and waited for her. I was determined. Nothing was going to stop me now, not even her tears. An hour passed and there was no sign of her. I was starting to think that she wouldn't come. Maybe she was scared of this. I could tell she knew what I had planned. Tanya may be blond but she was far from stupid.

After waiting a half hour longer I decided she wouldn't show up and left the place. It was raining. Great. This was just what I needed to make this day worse. As I started to walk I spotted Tanya's car parked next to mine. She was in her car. Had she been there this whole time? So, she did come. She just couldn't bring herself to get in. She wanted to avoid this. Too bad that wasn't going to happen. I had to do this. Well, better to do it in the privacy of her own car. I tapped on her passenger window. She unlocked the door for me and I got in. It was completely silent with the exception of Tanya's sobs. I scratched the back of my head trying to come up with something to say. Why was it so hard?

"Tanya… um….I think…I…." I was having a battle of my won in head.

"Just say it Edward. You want to break up" she finally said. I looked away and then back at her. Her eyes were so red and she was puffy. Was she crying this whole time? And I was the one to blame.

"I'm sorry T. You know that I…." I started saying but she looked at me furious.

"Don't say it. You don't love me. You never did. I was stupid by thinking that I finally met someone I could love. Do you know what happened to me once I met you? When I fell for you?" she cried. I could see the tears falling from her eyes. I wanted to hold her in my arms and console her but that was not a choice. I was the bastard here. As much as it hurt me and it made my chest ache I had to control myself. There was nothing I could do to stop her from feeling the way she felt. "Before I ever had you in my life I used to sleep with other guys as if it meant nothing. But then we started dating and…and…I knew I was hurting you by cheating on you like that so I stopped" she sniffled. "I was faithful to you! I thought we were going to be together till college. I actually thought you were the one. Now you're saying you don't want me? Why?" she was now punching my chest with her fists. I didn't stop her. I had nothing to say. No way to answer that question. I didn't know what I felt myself. I just knew I couldn't keep on being with her.

"What made you change your mind? Why do you suddenly want to end it? Did something happen? Did someone else come and stole you away?" I shook my head saying no. So far as I knew there was no one. I didn't fall for anyone else. I just stopped caring.

"I just….I started thinking about stuff and came to this conclusion. I'm sorry Tanya. But I'm sure you'll find someone better. Bye" I finally said and got out of the car and into my own. I may have left her with many unanswered questions but truthfully they were the same ones I had. I had no idea why I suddenly wanted to end it with her. Maybe I wanted to all along, I just never found the guts to do it. And now, there was no going back.

BPOV

I was in my last math problem when I heard the doorbell. I knew that it were Alice she would just come in. She always did that. I didn't have to come downstairs to open the door for her. We've been together for so long that it was as if we lived in each other's house. When the doorbell rang again I knew it wasn't her, so I went downstairs and opened it.

He was standing there drenched in water from head to toe, looking miserable.

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Please don't cry.

(Gives chocolate ice cream to anyone who cried after this chapter)

I know this chapter is sad for Tanya. I almost started crying while I write it. I know how she feels because I've been in the same situation. So, don't forget to comment.

I'll try to get better (cough, cough)


	8. Chapter 8

Hey people!! Thanks for the get well notes. They really brigheted my day. Just kidding!

Well, I did get better but I wasn't able to write a new chappie until now cause I was busy studying for my first physics test.

You may think this is shorter than usual, and you are right. Normally my chappie range from four to five pages. This only made four and a half. I just wanted to put something on here for you guys. You've been all too nice to me.

I'll try to have some new chappies done this weekend to put over the week. Or maybe I'll upload them all on monday for you to read at your own pace. I'm not sure yet.

Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming!

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BPOV

To say that I was surprised would be an understatement. I was shocked. For a a moment I couldn't move or think. Edward looked disastrous. After a second I let him in and went to look for a towel for him to dry off. As he dried off I turned on the heater to avoid him getting a cold. Then I started making some tea. While the water was heating in the stove, I sat next to him and looked at him worried.

"Edward…what….why?" I started asking not knowing what exactly to ask for but he didn't answer. He just grabbed my arm and held me in an embrace. I don't know what came over him, but this was not like him. I know he wasn't trying to hit on me or anything because he seemed genuinely upset. I wanted to comfort him but didn't know what to say. So, I wrapped my arms around him.

We continued in the same position until I heard the teapot whistling. Then I let my arms fall and ran to the kitchen. When I came back to the living room, Edward was looking at me with the most intense expression in his eyes. It reminded me of Saturday. For some reason my heart started racing and beating hard and I could feel my cheeks start to burn. But then he lowered his gaze.

"Sorry" he finally said. I furrowed my brows in confusion. What was he sorry for? He seemed uncomfortable now and pointed to the seat next to him and it clicked. He meant the hug. Huh. Okay.

"What happened?" I gave him his cup and sat, this time, away from him. I was expecting another meltdown sooner or later and I didn't want to held by him again.

"I just… I feel like such an asshole. And you of all people should agree that I am indeed the biggest asshole you've ever met in your life. I just…. I don't know. I was going to drive back home but something pulled me here. As if I wanted to come here. I'm sorry if I'm being a nuisance. I'll leave" he started getting up but I signaled him to sit which he obediently did.

"Edward, something must have happened to make you feel this way. If you don't want to tell me it's fine, we can just watch a movie until you start feeling better" I told him.

"I broke up with Tanya just a few minutes ago" he told me. His face fell instantly and he sipped his tea.

I had no words. For the first time I didn't know what to say. Should I comfort him? He seemed to be hurt. But then again, it was Tanya we were talking about. He was better off without her. I don't know what made me say it, but I just blurted it out. And I regretted it at once. "Why? You two belong together!" I covered my mouth with both of my hands, surprised.

Edward just started laughing. He was still a bit sad, but he was smiling. As if what I said were ridiculous, and maybe it was. Hearing him laugh, seeing him smile, made something inside of me turn and I smiled back. Okay, there was definitely something wrong in the universe right now. There was no way I could be smiling in the presence of Edward Cullen. He was supposed to be my nemesis! The person I hated the most! Whatever happened to those feelings?

Suddenly, he stopped laughing and just looked at me. "People do tend to get that conclusion. But you know what? I realized; I don't like Tanya. I never really did. And what fucks me is that she is the first person who I had a meaningful relationship with. How did that happen? It isn't as if I fell for her! I couldn't even get a stupid hard on when I was with her. Ergo, I'm still… Well, the bottom line is that nothing ever happened between us and we still had a relationship. I don't get it" he tried explaining.

"Um…when you say you're still….do you mean?" I looked at his crotch and instantly regretted asking. Okay, I'm having a lot of regrets tonight. What is going on?

Again he laughed. God, he looked cute when he laughed like that. No wonder Tanya dated him or any other girl in school.

"Yes Bella. I am still a virgin. I never did it with any woman. Although, if you repeat that to Emmet or Jasper, I will have to kill you" he warned me.

I smiled back and narrowed my eyes. "So, in other words, I have a way of blackmailing you now. Given that you can't really kill me, without…" I pointed to the place where Charlie normally hung his gun.

The rest of the night went on in a similar fashion. We joked a lot and made fun of our friends. I could see that it helped Edward a lot. He was no longer feeling so sad or looked remotely hurt. It made me smile to know that I could make a difference in his mood.

I don't know why, but I started questioning how it all started. Why was it that I hated him before? He never really did anything to me, besides kiss me. We coexisted peacefully by just ignoring each other. If Mr. Gibbs hadn't thrown us in this project together, or if we hadn't registered for this same class, Edward and I would have never talked like we are doing right now. So, could it be a good thing? Maybe I was wrong about him all along. He didn't seem to be the bad guy I thought he was.

I'm not saying that I'm starting to like Edward or anything among those lines. Because I don't. I just find him to be friendly. And he did come to my place after he broke up with Tanya. He could have gone to either Jasper's or Emmet's house, but he chose to see me. Now that I remembered, he never answered my question. Why had he come here? I tried asking him again but he grabbed his jacket and started to leave.

Again, some unknown instinct inside of me that I never even thought I had made me want him to stay. I wanted to be longer with him. Have him by my side and see him smile and hear his velvety voice. But I never acted on it. I just ignored these strange feelings and said goodbye. I had to keep my sanity while I could. Someone had to be level headed here.

Before he was out of the door he said. "Thanks Bella. You…helped. A lot. I know I've been a bastard to you forever, so please forgive me. I would really like it if you and I could be… friends" with this last word he offered me his hand to shake.

I was frozen, in time and in place. I was speechless again. Never in my life had I expected Edward Cullen to ask me to be his friend. This was beyond bizarre. I should have looked like an idiot again. I mean, here he was, being all nice to me, and what was my response? None. At least it was that way for two minutes or maybe more. But then I reacted and I shook his hand. I could feel the awkwardness coming back. But I fought it.

"Friends"

EPOV

I know that I should look like a freak in front of Bella. First, I come to her place with no previous warning. Second, I look all hurt and depressed over a stupid breakup. And third, I asked her to be my friend. Yes, I asked Bella Swan to be my friend! What the fuck is wrong with me? If Jasper found out about this, no, if either Alice or Rose knew this, they would literally kill me or fry me alive. Those two girls protected Bella like a jewel. Getting close to Bella was like signing a death sentence. What was I thinking? Besides, wasn't I supposed to hate her?

Why did I go to her place? I had just broken up with a girl, gotten out of a rotten relationship and now I was flirting with another girl? How much of an ass could I be? No wonder Rose hated my guts. Now I can't really blame the woman. But in my defense, Bella didn't seem to mind. She never complained about having me there. I'm an idiot. Of course she didn't complain. I was a mess, she must have been afraid of hurting me even more. Thank God I didn't take advantage of her warm feelings. Maybe the previous me would have done that, but I wanted to change that.

If you ask me what changed my mind all of a sudden my answer would be, I don't know. I just got fed up with how I was living my life. Too many lies can bite you in the ass. And boy don't I have a web of lies. Jasper and Emmet are supposed to be my friends; they should know me better than anyone else. But they didn't know the real me at all. And here I was spilling my feelings and secrets to Bella. Why? Why her?

I have no idea what the fuck is going on with me. I just know that having Bella Swan next to me is driving me crazy.

The next day at school, I never once saw Tanya. One of her friends told Jasper that she stayed home sick. Figures she wouldn't tell me that directly. It hurt me to think that I had Tanya feeling like this. But then I imagined what our relationship would have been like; disastrous. I would have never been happy and in the long run, neither would she.

Thankfully, neither of my friends asked any questions. However, they kind of gave me the cold shoulder during the day. As if trying to spare my feelings or something like that. Apparently Bella wasn't the only one who thought I was in love with Tanya. Emmet and Jasper also misread my vibes.

I didn't give the whole thing much thought however. I wasn't going to fret over it. And I made a decision: I was not going to have a relationship until I graduated. And when I did find my one, I would stick to her and love her more than anything else. I wasn't going to be the player anymore. Now that I thought of it, I haven't been a player since my middle school years and freshman year in high school.

I tried talking to Bella in between classes but she was with Alice and Rose. And I didn't want to be seen talking to Bella around them. I still valued my life. And I couldn't talk to the girl during class because I was afraid to piss her off if I distracted her from whatever activity we were doing. I don't know what Bella's like, but I could sense she was the uptight kind.

I was now writing a new chapter in my story. As usual, I was locked in my room with the volume at full blast. And I was alone at home, which kind of helped. It was so quiet in the house, with nothing to distract me at all. You know how that feels, right? It is so tempting to just put your headphones on and immerse yourself in your own little world. I've always loved that. It was like a drug. Whenever you felt like running away from the world; from all the complications and all the drama, just closing your eyes and imagining a different reality just helped so much. That's why I loved to write. While I punched in every key in the keyboard, I just went off to another world. For a moment I forgot all about Tanya, or Bella. And just focused on my characters.

I was writing a paragraph when I heard a knock on the door downstairs. This was odd. I wasn't expecting anyone today. At all. So I went downstairs and opened the door.

She was the person I least expected to see.

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Deja vu? I think so!

Who do you think is at Edward's door?

And now that we're playing detective, who made Bella drunk at that party? Care to guess?


	9. Chapter 9

Okay, here you go guys! Right out of the oven! Thanks a billion for the reviews!!

As always, keep them coming!

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EPOV

"Tanya…what?" I asked dumbfounded. She looked like a mess with no make up on and her eyes all puffy from crying. Had I done this to her? After a few seconds I let her in and we went to the living room. I wasn't kidding when I said I didn't expect to see her. She must hate me by now. She should be avoiding me. But here she was, in her sweats no less. This was not like her.

If she wanted to get back together, she would have to go back to crying. Not that I wanted her to cry. Of course not. I am an idiot and I can be horrible at times but I've never wanted people to cry. I just meant that I was resolute and firm in my decision. I couldn't be Tanya's boyfriend anymore. This was what was going on in my head when I saw her, so imagine my surprise when she tells me she was sorry. That's all she said and then broke out crying again. Why the fuck was she sorry? I was the monster here! I swear, women are way too complicated. I have no idea how Emmet and Jasper understand Rose and Alice. To me, the feminine mind was mind boggling. You can give me an algebra problem, no, make it a calculus problem, and that would be ten times easier than trying to understand a girl and her feelings.

I sighed. What could I say to her? Anything that came out of my mouth was going to sound horrible. I couldn't comfort her or else she would get the wrong idea. And I couldn't tell her to leave cause that would be just plain rude. So tell me, what the fuck could I do in this position? I was screwed. Damn it! This is why I broke up! Okay, it's not THE reason, but it's one of them. I swear. I wanted to run away from these issues. I was going to college for the love of God! In just a few months I would be starting a new life with no commitments.

But back to the problem at hand. I have Tanya here crying like there's no tomorrow and I am feeling at my worst. However, I went against my better judgment and put my arm around her. She looked at me hopeful, and my suspicions were right on target. I sighed again and told her. "T, I'm sorry for making you feel like this. Really, I am. But when I said I wanted to end it, I really meant that. If you came to ask me to get back together I'm afraid my answer is still no. I'm sorry" I know I must sound repetitive, but what else was there to say?

"It's okay. I don't… I don't want you feeling bad Edward. That's not why I came. Well, I can't really say that I wasn't hoping you'd want me again. But I knew you wouldn't. Edward, I love you, a lot. And we've been together for so long, I feel like I got to know a good part of you" she cleared her tears and looked at me, smiling. I could still see the sadness in her eyes, despite the smile in her lips. I knew better than to believe she was better. But I didn't interrupt her. "I know that when you make up your mind about something, you tend to stick to that decision. That's why I'm not going to even ask. I just came to tell you that my family is moving. My father found a job in Denali and now I have to go. So see, we would have to break up sooner or later anyways" she tried to joke but instead of laughing, more tears started to fall from her eyes.

"Tanya, I…"she stopped me by putting a finger to my lips.

"Don't say you're sorry. Not anymore. It's okay. This is for the best. Maybe you'll find a better girlfriend than I was to you. I really hope that happens because you deserve the best. Don't think you hurt me, that's one of your weaknesses. You worry too much about what other people think. You have to worry more about what you want. I want you to be happy Edward. My love, my best friend" she told me and kissed me in the cheek. She then got up and left. I was stunned by her words. I couldn't move. I never imagined that Tanya felt so strongly about me. I knew she was one of my very closest friends, and as such I did love her. But I didn't love her passionately. That feeling was never there.

I heard a click on the door and knew she was gone. Damn! I couldn't even stand up to say goodbye to her. What was happening with me? Why couldn't I be a good guy? She deserved at least that much. If she couldn't have me as a boyfriend, the least I could give her after everything we've been through was my friendship, The only question left is, could I bring myself to do it? Or was I a real monster? I laughed at the idea but couldn't find it ridiculous.

Okay, it was time for some damage control. I was not going to sit idly by while Tanya left town. I had to do one last nice gesture. And for that I needed my sister. If anyone had ideas for a good bash, it was her. I know I would regret asking her for help in a few minutes, but in the end, it would be worth it. I wanted Tanya to leave with a good memory.

Before I called Alice, I dialed Kate's number. Kate is Tanya's sister and I know that even though I hurt her beloved sister, she wouldn't hung up the phone. I couldn't say the same of some of Tanya's friends. You already know that story. Kate was different in her own way. She loved her sister a lot and could be overprotective sometimes, just like Rose with Bella, but at the same time, she gave Tanya a sort of freedom I couldn't understand. You could say that Kate was everyone's friends. She kept no hard feelings to anyone.

After talking for a good fifteen minutes with Kate I hung up the phone and called my sister's cell. I was not surprised to know that she was at the mall. What surprised was that she was only with Rose. Bella was not with them. Alice said she stayed home doing her homework like a good girl she was. I laughed. That did sound like her. I told Alice what my plans were and she jumped right in. She was going to stop by Wall-mart and buy supplies. I left all the shopping to her and started making a list of people to invite. According to Kate, her family was moving next week. Most of the paperwork was done and they had a lease on an apartment. All they needed now was to finish packing and sending the furniture which meant that I had a few days to plan for the weekend. With Alice's help, that wouldn't be too hard.

During classes I would write To-do lists and consequently not pay attention to what the teachers were saying. Not that I cared what they said before. It was high school for crying out loud! Since when does anyone care to learn anything in high school? I couldn't answer that, Bella did. I swear, sometimes I want to call her a nerd. She is always studying and seems so smart. It could be irritating at times. Specially now. Not only was paying attention to class important to her, I was supposed to give a damn too, according to her. She even stopped me Thursday, after biology class. She looked pissed with me, and I had no idea why. I had not done anything to her. I haven't even talked to her this past week.

"What is wrong with you Edward? You seem unlike yourself during class" she told me. I wanted to leave and she was blocking my way. This was not going good. And her question annoyed me. What did she mean when she said I was acting unlike myself? As if she knew me! No one in thus fucking world knows me. Not even I know myself. I'm a fucking teenager, of course I don't know myself. What gave her the…. what made her…. why did she…. I came up with a hundred questions I wanted to ask her at that moment and a thousand other ways to fight and argue with her, here in the hallway, but I knew I had things to do. I still needed to finish on the decorations for the party. So I kept my mouth shut and swallowed my pride.

"Sorry Bella. I have other things to do than to chit chat with you" I responded and left the other way. I had no time to argue with her. I know I was being rude to her right now, but if I wanted the place to look perfect by Saturday, I had to work hard, and that meant cutting time after school. Of course, I wasn't working on this alone. I had Jasper and Emmet helping me. Rose didn't want to break a nail and so was left with the responsibility of choosing the music and giving out orders. That was a draw back from everything. For Emmet it was like heaven. I wouldn't want to know how she was in bed if she was so bitchy as a boss. I felt sorry for Emmet, even though he didn't seem to mind. Jasper however, was another story. Give the guy some props cause he knew hot to handle Rose's orders. Not once did he lose it in front of us. He seemed calm and collected which was bushtit. How the fuck did the guy manage that?

Even if I wanted to scream at times, I kept my cool around the guys. They were being very helpful and I would be a major class jerk if I complained.

Finally it was Friday night and we were done with all the work. We had put up decorations in the walls and ceilings. We had a big banner made by none other than Alice. Her handwriting was the best out of all of us. The seats and tables were also covered in classic decorations. The podium was set up ready to have a DJ and some good music. Everything seemed to be set. And I had mailed out all the invitations as soon as I knew about the move. I invited most of Tanya's best friends which meant 90% of the school. She was a popular girl after all.

I looked around me and felt a wave of pride. We had done it. And tomorrow night will be perfect. Now I could say goodbye to Tanya with no regrets.

I was turning off the lights when I noticed a dark figure leaning in the doorway. By the shape I knew it was a girl, and she had curves. At first I thought it was Tanya and cursed under my breath. But then I thought about it some more and knew I was wrong. When I got closer I noticed it was Bella. That took me by surprise. She looked different. I looked closer, top to bottom. She was wearing a tight shirt and jeans. That was what made her different. She usually had a sweater on and didn't show that many curves. I mean, she had breasts and an ass. That, I hadn't noticed before for sure. And I was a guy, that kind of thing calls my attention. I felt myself harden and cursed once again. Of all people I had to get like that with her. I turned around so that she wouldn't know.

"Edward? What happened? Did I scare you? I'm sorry. I was just… well….Alice and Rose told me they were up to something but kept the details to myself. I was hoping to find one of them here" she explained. I didn't turn around. I had to regain control of myself. Fuck. How did you get rid of this? I think I needed a cold shower or to… I shuddered at the thought. No, I'm not a kid. I won't resort to that. Yes, a cold shower was definitely in place. I turned around without facing her and left the place. I got in my car, ignoring her. I turned on the ignition and was intending to drive off but thought better. I had already treated her this way before. She probably thought I was being a jerk.

I didn't get off the car however. There was no way she was going to see my state. I only rolled down my window and looked at her. "Alice and Rose left a while ago. I think they said something about buying a goodbye present for Tanya. Sorry you had to miss them".

"It's okay. I'll catch up to them tomorrow. So this was what you guys were planning? A goodbye party for Tanya? Whose idea was it?" she asked. I laughed and looked down. She must have taken that reaction as a guilty one. "You? Wow! That's so… so…. unlike you" she repeated again. I raised an eyebrow in question. Again she was jumping to conclusions, as if she knew me.

"You said that this afternoon after bio. What did you mean by this being unlike me? You don't know anything about me" I retaliated. I know I said I didn't want to argue with her, but her comments were getting on my nerves.

"Sorry. I didn't mean it that way. It's just that… I've known you to be the popular kind of guy. You have too many friendships to worry about this just one. And up until now, I didn't think you cared about Tanya at all. You were only with her to make everyone else happy. After all, she was one of the most popular girls in school. If not, the most popular. But if it offended you… forget I ever mentioned it" she apologized. I wasn't mad or anything. I was impressed. She nailed me. She actually nailed me!

Even I didn't know that part about myself, but I had to admit that everything she just said was true. Well, except the part about me not caring about Tanya at all. I did care about her; a little. What got to me was how she knew I was a people pleaser. Was I being obvious? Even Tanya said something among those lines. Have I been trying too hard? After a few seconds, I noticed I had gone quiet and maybe I was upsetting Bella or worrying her.

"No, I'm not upset. You just took me by surprise. That's all. Neither of my friends has ever told me something like that. Not even Jasper who is supposed to be the know it all. And I have to admit, you are right; partly. I am a people pleaser; especially with my parents. I don't know when it all started but I've always have been. Did you just notice that about me?"

"Nope. I kind of knew it this whole time. I noticed that about you. It made me mad that you were like that. And you are so good at it. It's hard for someone not to like you" she answered, It was dark out so I couldn't tell if she was blushing or not. I could hardly see much of her face from my car.

BPOV

Edward must think I'm being too rude. So, before I could inflict any more damage, I decided to leave the scene of the crime. Clearly, I was not going to find anyone here. And talking to Edward did not seem to be going well. He was silent again. And I know what that silence meant.

As I started to walk toward my truck, Edward came out of his car. His next words caught me off guard. But then again, they always do.

"Do you want to go grab a bite? I feel like we have a lot to talk about" he invited me. I looked around me just in case he wasn't referring to me. Nope; there was no one close by. Just me and him.

"Sure" I agreed.

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For those of you who guessed right that it was Tanya at the door, I give you all ice cream sunday's!!

Love you all!!!


	10. Chapter 10

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that I am a total drama queen and these next few chapters got me on edge. I was actually nervous!!! I had no idea of what was going to happen (so I was in the position as you guys) and when things developed I was freacking out. I couldn't even sleep. Things are getting out of control!

Hope you guys like this chappie. ^_^ Thursday I will upload chapter 11.

Questions will be answered my good friends.

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BPOV

I know it must seem weird and out of character of me to accept a date with Edward. The thing is, this is not a date. We are just hanging out, as he put it. He didn't intentionally ask me out. He clearly stated that he didn't want to get into another relationship so soon and he only wanted to be my friend. That's why I was driving right now to Red Lobster. And yes, this is a well known restaurant and it can be a bit pricey, but this is NOT a date. Please don't make me repeat that last sentence. I feel nervous as it is right now. And I shouldn't be nervous at all, because nothing was going to happen.

Edward was already waiting for me inside by the time I got there. That bastard beat me here. It was like saying that my truck was too slow. My truck is not slow, the problem was the traffic. It looked like rush hour right now and it was past 7. People should be home by now. But trust Seattle to have a lot of traffic; no matter what time of day it is. Yup, you heard right. I had to drive all the way to freaking Seattle because there was no decent restaurant or place to eat in Forks. I usually, and by that I mean always, ate at home.

"It's good to know you didn't back on your answer. I was afraid you wouldn't come" he admitted. I smiled.

"I always mean everything I say" I replied.

At that moment, a hostess took us to our table. Wow, Edward must have been here for a good while. The place was packed with people, it would normally take about 5 minutes to get a table. The hostess left and in came our waitress. Of course, they all had to be girls. They probably asked to serve this table. All to just get a glance at Edward. Why did he have to be so damn charming? Even restaurant girls were fighting to serve him, it was ridiculous. Edward seemed oblivious to this fact which made me laugh. There was a girl who was salivating in front of him; not literally, and he was talking as if nothing were happening. He just ordered our drinks without flirting with the girl back. This clearly offended her and I prayed to God that our food arrive with no problems.

Edward seemed to notice my laughter by his arched brow. "She was clearly crazy about you Edward. Don't tell me you didn't notice" I whispered.

Edward laughed with me. This seemed to amuse him. "I did notice but decided to not act on it. I am not interested. Besides, what kind of guy would I be if I flirted with her with you right in front of me?" he whispered back.

"Oh! Don't feel that you have to restrain yourself on my behalf" I laughed. Then something changed. The atmosphere became serious all of a sudden. Edward looked like her was trying hard to understand something. "Something troubling you prince charming?" I joked.

"No…But I keep trying…to understand what's on your mind. You are so honest, it surprises me" he answered. I blushed. I really did. His comment made me blush and start to feel warm. I looked away and then back.

"I am not completely honest. Not always. I try though. It's just… it's so easy with you. You make it easy".

Edward raised a brow again and laughed with me. "Wow. That's good to know. I'll be on my guard now" he joked.

Right then our drinks came and I thanked the lord for that. I needed an escape. You see, when you have a drink with you, you can sip and be quiet. You don't have to be talking all the time. It helps during weird moments; like now. However, the problem now was that it was too quiet. Neither one of us knew what to say. I swallowed my drink and broke the silence.

"So, have you read the book? For the project I mean" I asked. It was the first thing that came to mind, and I was curious as to what he thought about it.

"Yeah, and truthfully, it was plain garbage. I don't mean to be sexist or a monster when I say this but, that woman had it coming" he responded. I was taken aback and offended.

"How can you say that? The woman was raped! No female deserves to go through something so tragic and horrible!" I answered in horror. Part of me knew he would think that, but I still couldn't help but be shocked at his reaction.

"Bella, she was a war correspondent. She got a lead on some killer who she knew well was horrible and she still went after him. She could have left that job to the cops. Why did she have to get her hands dirty? It was not her job to do so!"

"Yeah but the cops didn't want to get involved. They didn't have enough leads apparently. I am not saying that I disagree with you about her being an idiot for what she did, but of all things, she didn't have to be treated that way. Do you know how horrible it would be for a girl to be raped? To be used as a… as a…" I tried finding the right word.

"As a tool to satisfy our sexual desires? Yeah, well, you would be surprised"

"What do you mean?" I asked him. He seemed serious all of a sudden. As if something were bothering him. Had he actually seen a girl get raped? If he did, why didn't he stop it? "Edward? Don't ignore my question" I pleaded.

"Nothing. Just forget it. Some things are better left uncovered Nancy Drew. So just forget it, okay?" he responded. Now I was irritated. I hated when people dodged questions or answered with a big fat nothing. If I was going to be honest, the least I expected was for the other person to also be honest. But Edward was not going to open up.

Just then our waitress came back and asked if we were done deciding what to order. I asked for a famous platter they were having at the time and Edward did the same. Figures, he hadn't even read the menu. After the girl was gone, I excused myself to go to the bathroom. I needed some time alone. And Edward was starting to piss me off with his cold attitude.

Had I said something to get him like that? I remember I asked him what he meant by his last comment. That's all. Why couldn't he answer a simple question? Was it something too personal? Did something happen?

Suddenly I remembered the party at La Push and the next day. I had woken up in Edward's room. What was I doing there in the first place? Did something happen that night? God! I wanted answers. And I was about to get them.

When I came back, our food was already in the table. Edward hadn't touched his yet. He was probably waiting for me to come back; very gentlemanly of him. I sat down and started eating my food. Edward followed. I could feel the tension rise in the room and knew that it was too silent in the table. Neither one of us spoke at all. I was expecting him to say something but whatever was bugging him before was still bugging him now. I ate in total silence, which was not new to me. I always ate in silence with Charlie in the table.

But then our meal was over. Edward asked for the check and we waited. He still didn't want to talk. And that was fine by me. He could give me the silent treatment. He has been treating me like shit lately, so I might as well get used to it. It was stupid and foolish of me to expect anything different from him.

I was relieved when he paid for the bill and I was finally able to get the hell away from here. I didn't want to spend another minute with him. He seemed to think differently. Apparently, I was the one who was angry.

"Bella, would you calm down? What got you so riled up? One minute we were talking about a book and the next you're completely quiet. What happened?" he asks. How dare he? How dare he put the blame on me? It isn't my fault this dinner was a complete disaster.

I turned around and slapped him. "I am calm. It was you who was acting like a complete jerk. I was trying to be friendly but you closed up!" I answered.

"You call that being friendly? You were pushing me away Bella! You didn't utter a single word during dinner. Didn't you notice it got kind of quiet in there?"

"FYI, It got quiet because you got angry about something. You are keeping something from me and I want the honest fucking truth! It's about time we got it out in the open Edward!" I cried. I literally started crying. I don't know why. But tears just started falling from my eyes. I was shaking too.

"What are you talking about? What the hell would I be keeping from you?" he asked with a tone of annoyance.

"What happened that night? The night of the party at La Push? I know I woke up in your room, I want to know why. When I commented on the fact that you don't know what it's like for a girl to be raped you answered _you would be surprised_. What did you mean by that? Did something happen that night?" I could feel my chest ache. This was the moment of truth. And Edward was not running away from this one.

"Why do you think one thing is connected to the other? Neither of them have anything to do with the other. I can answer your first question, but I can't honestly answer the second one. It's not my job to do that. As to your first question, nothing happened that night. You woke up in my room because you got a bit tipsy at the party and I felt responsible for taking you someplace safe. I knew I couldn't take you back to Charlie's because he would use that shotgun of his and kill me. So I took you to the second place that came to mind. But I didn't do anything to you. I didn't touch you at all. Contrary to what you think, I am not the monster here Bella. So I would appreciate it if you kept those comments to yourself. As to your second question, I can just tell you to ask Jacob Black for the answer. He should have one hell of a better explanation" and with that he left me; dumbfounded and speechless. I had insulted him and I knew it.

I was crying so hard I felt weak. As soon as I heard Edward's car leave the driveway I got into mine and drove off. I know I shouldn't be driving in my current state, but I had to get home. I was feeling horrible. This whole night was a big giant mistake. I should have known better. But then again, I did get my answers. Too bad that just made me feel worse about myself. Edward never meant any harm, he only wanted to help me that night. The question that now bugged me was why. He also told me to ask Jacob about what he saw. What did Jacob have to do with everything? I had to call him. If Edward was right about nothing happening that night, then he ought to be right about Jake.

As soon as I got home, I dialed Jake's number. He picked up after the third ring. "Yeah?" he asked. Always so simple.

"Jake, can we talk? I need to ask you something" I was nervous and still kind of shaking. I wasn't crying though. That was a big plus.

"Sure, is everything all right? Did something happen?" I hope not. I answered no and we agreed to see each other tomorrow morning at the beach. Of course, that meant that this was going to be a sleepless night. My thoughts would not let me rest.

As soon as daybreak came, I got in my truck and drove to La Push. Jacob beat me to the punch though. He seemed eager to see me, which made me happy. All my worries seemed to face away all of a sudden. Jake was the same best guy friend he always was. Nothing was different. At least I thought so at first, until I noticed the guilt in his face. It was practically written in his forehead.

He hugged me and held my hand, like always. But I could sense he was hiding something from me.

"So, how have you been Bells?" he asked nonchalantly.

I stopped walking and he looked back at me. His expression turned to worry.

"Jake. You've been my best friend for quiet a few years. I trust you just as much as i trust Alice and Rose. So I need you to answer me this. What happened the night of the party?" I asked him.


	11. Chapter 11

Moment of truth people!! Thanks for the reviews!!

I love you!!!

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BPOV

There was silence. Jacob didn't answer my question so I had to push it out of him. "Jacob! Why won't you tell me? Something happened, didn't it?" I was starting to cry; yet again. His attitude was getting me nervous. When Jacob kept silent it was bad, very bad.

"Bella, you have to understand. I was wasted that night. I wasn't thinking straight. I didn't know what I was doing. I never ever meant you any harm. You know me. I'm your Jacob" he rambled. I looked away and then back at him. I was getting irritated. He wasn't going to dodge my question.

"Jacob! Just answer my question!" I screamed. He noticed my bad mood and didn't try to argue any more.

"I… well… remember that you asked for a drink? You wanted a coke, I think. Everyone else at the place was drinking their hearts away but you didn't want to. You were the same Bella I always knew, and didn't want to get close to any alcoholic drink. You always have been intolerant to that. If I bad not remember you told me one day that it only took one bottle of beer to get you drunk. You were right. You did get drunk" he started explaining. Edward was right. I did get tipsy. I needed to sit down. I was afraid to know what I did. I couldn't remember anything. If I was drunk then I was capable of doing anything. What did I do?

I looked back at Jacob, asking him to continue. "I wasn't going to do anything to you Bells. You have to believe that. I was just feeling miserable at the moment and wanted to have some fun. I forgot that you were so weak with liquor. But then… I went to get us more to drink and by the time I came back to where I last left you; you were gone. I looked everywhere for you. I was sweating bullets Bells. I was scared to death of what could have happened to you"

I swallowed slowly and spoke. "And where did you find me?"

It took Jacob a few minutes to answer that question. By this point he was crying too. And I knew I was right. Something had happened.

"You were in Cullen's arms. But I knew he didn't do anything to you. It wasn't him. He was just holding you in his arms. And…" he looked away. "I just hate myself for putting you in that position Bella. I can't forgive myself for this. Because I know! I know I wasn't going to be so different from those guys. In my head I wanted you so much. I wanted to tell you. Bella…" he now took my hands in his and looked at me in pain. "Bella, I love you. I always have"

I needed to throw up. Jacob was telling me he wanted to use me and that he loved me. That couldn't be right. This wasn't the Jacob I knew and loved as a friend. I couldn't recognize my best guy friend in his eyes. And I wanted to run away from this stranger. I started to feel so cold inside, and I could sense that it was going to start raining at any moment.

Before I got up to leave, I faced Jacob. "Jake, if you did love me, you would have never done that to me! You got me drunk and I'm not sure if I was raped because of it. Do you know how that feels?" I cried and got up. I was walking away from him, wiping the tears from my eyes.

Jacob didn't get a chance to fight back because I was gone. I drove off. I just wanted to get home and lock myself in my room. Whatever I just heard in the last few minutes couldn't be true. I hit myself with the head set and cried harder. I was so distracted by what had happened, I didn't see the other car swerving into my lane and then…

EPOV

The party was set for the afternoon. I had asked Kate to bring Tanya to the club by five and to keep everything a secret. Everything was set for the surprise. I had everyone hide behind seats and the podium to surprise Tanya when she got here.

The doors opened and we all shouted surprise. Tanya was about to start crying. Then she caught me and it was as if she knew this was all my idea. I hated how good she was at details like that.

I hugged her and kissed her in the cheek. "We'll miss you T. I didn't want you to go without a proper goodbye" I told her.

She laughed. "Why do you have to be so incredibly perfect? Don't you know you make it harder for us girls to forget you?" she joked.

The party was a huge success, or at least it was going that way, until Alice got the phone call. She looked alarmed and whispered something to Rosalie. I had never seen Alice look so nervous or scared and it got me scared too. It was like a chain effect. I saw Emmet give Rose and Alice his car keys and the girls were gone. Something bad had happened; I knew it. Alice would never leave a party. Not unless there was some kind of an emergency.

I went to Jasper and asked him what happened.

He was in the phone calling Carlisle. I swallowed slowly. When Jasper hung up I tried asking again. By this time I knew someone had gotten hurt.

"It's nothing to worry your head about Edward. Just enjoy the party, okay? The girls will be back soon enough" he tried calming me but I wasn't going to have it. I wanted the fucking truth. "Fine! Bella Swan had an accident this morning. She was taken to the E.R as soon as Charlie found her. Apparently someone had called the cops by then. Charlie was scared to death when they found her. I called your dad to see if he can do anything for her. He's on his way right now. She'll be fine Edward. The girls are driving to the hospital as we speak. They just got the news a few minutes ago. Charlie called Alice. He couldn't take it anymore and he kind of felt lonely. I think Jacob and his father were in the hospital too…" he was explaining. I bolted right out of there. I grabbed my jacket and left the place. Jasper ran after me. "Edward, what are you doing? This is your party! Are you going to leave Tanya behind?" he called after me.

I turned around. "Bella's a friend too. And I need to be there for her right now. I don't want to spend the rest of the night wondering how she's doing. I'm going! Take care of Tanya for me!" and I was gone. I probably wasn't thinking straight at the time, but I was worried and frightened. What if something bad happened to Bella? How hurt was she? All of these questions kept on popping into my head and I just couldn't think straight. Last time I saw her I had really hurt her. I treated her like crap and I couldn't bring myself to forgive myself after that. I was going to protect her from the truth. I shouldn't have told her about that night. I shouldn't have lost it with her that way. She was crying for God sakes! How horrible could I be?

When I got to the hospital, it was so quiet in the waiting room. All my fears just intensified. Alice was sitting next to Rose and she looked deranged. Rose had her arm around her. I went to them and when Alice saw me it was looking at the sun after a long dark night. I hugged her with all my might. I know it may not look like it, but I love my sister a lot, and it hurt me like hell to see her worried like this.

"How is she? What happened?" I asked.

Alice let me go and wiped the tears from her face. "I don't know. Charlie was inside with Bella when we arrived and daddy won't tell us anything. I really hope nothing bad happened to her" Alice answered. I looked at Rose next. She seemed more calm than Alice.

"Alice is just overreacting. The shock got to us. Charlie sounded out of himself when he called. I'm sure Bella is fine. She's been out of the ER for a while now. And Carlisle didn't look that worried. Thanks for coming Edward. How are the guys? Are they still at the party?" Rose asked me.

"Yeah. They have to clean up afterwards. But I'm sure Jasper and Emmet will come as soon as they can. They are worried about you guys. But honestly, what happened? How did she… where was she?" I kept on asking. The girls just shook their heads. It was clear that I wasn't getting an answer from them. They knew just as much as I did at the moment. Just then Charlie came out of Bella's room, looking hurt and angry. He pointed at someone, and for a Moment I was afraid it was me, but he kept on walking until he found his victim; Jacob Black.

I just stood there; we all just stood there, watching Charlie loose whatever was left of his sanity. And then it all clicked.

"You…. you better tell me what the hell Bella was doing at La Push and why she is so hurt right now. You have a lot of explaining to do young man! What did you do to my Bella? My daughter! What happened you sick little bastard?! Answer me!!" Charlie started screaming at the top of his lungs.

For a moment there I thought he was going to grab his gun and start shooting at the guy. Okay, a bit overdramatic, but he deserved it. But he didn't because at that very moment Jacob's dad stood in the middle and pushed Charlie away. Even in a wheelchair, it was obvious that the old guy could defend himself. Jacob was miserable; he didn't know what to say to Charlie. It was obvious that he was having the case of the guilty conscience; big time. And I enjoyed it.

After a few seconds of silence, Jacob turned around and just left. Charlie was going to go after him but he was stopped. Charlie just looked at Jacob's dad with narrowed eyes and went back to Bella's room; without uttering a single word.

Once alone in the waiting room I sat down and sighed. It was all my fault. Well, mine and Jacob's. I should have never mentioned that night to her. She didn't need to know. If Charlie wanted to kill someone right now, I could just give my head in a silver platter. I hurt Bella in the end. I was supposed to be the good guy. How did it all turn out this way? I needed to tell Charlie, that way he would torture me and get it over with. After all, it was because of my words that Bella got in that crash. I told her to go to Jacob and ask. He probably told her everything and now she was feeling pretty shitty. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"What happened Edward? You look like you're in real pain…" Alice was telling me but was interrupted by Carlisle, who came out of Bella's room. Apparently she wanted to see the girls. I decided to just stay outside. I was probably the person in the top of her _I don't want to see you _list. But Alice pulled me out of the chair and I stupidly followed.

Turns out I was wrong. Once Bella saw me she asked everyone; including Charlie, to leave her alone with me. This took everyone by surprise; including me. They all looked at me like I was a wanted criminal and that was just perfect. I wanted to leave the room at that moment. I don't know why, but I couldn't bring myself to run away; not from her.

She looked so fragile and weak, it just made my body tense and feel so protective. I wanted to hold her in my arms and comfort her. Looking at her with bandages in her head, a needle stuck in her arm and a tube going into her nose, just made me want to throw up. It killed me to think that I did this.

She seemed to read my thoughts because once we were alone she said. "Don't do that. Don't feel sorry for me Edward. You're not to blame for what happened to me"

I finally found my voice. "What do you mean? If I hadn't told you about that night at La Push you would have never gone to that idiot. You didn't need to know Bella. And now… look at you!"

"Edward, come closer. Please. Sit here next to me. I need to tell you something and I really want you to listen" she told me and scooted a little bit to let me sit next to her. She was making it really hard for me. "Look, I…." she searched for words. "One way or the other I would have gone to Jacob and found out the truth. I don't hate you for telling me the truth. I am actually thankful for that. But now I need to know the full story. And I promise I won't get into another crash after this. I can bet that Charlie will take my driving privileges till next year. So, please. You're the only I can apparently trust. Jacob told me that he found you holding me that night…" she pleaded.

I could have just shut my mouth and not said a thing, but I seem to have a problem around here where I can't keep my mouth shut. I had to talk with her. "Some guys were going to take advantage of you and you were a little bit out of yourself to even fight back. I…" okay, this part was going to be uncomfortable. "I kicked them out of you and fought them. Then I took you in my arms and asked Jacob to get Jasper's car keys. You know the rest" I told her.

She was silent for a moment, as if deep in thought. Then she did something completely unexpected. She leaned her head in my shoulder and took my arm. "Thank you" she whispered.

Right then and there I knew I was in deep shit. My heart felt heavy in my chest and I knew, like I know the constant of gravitational force is 9.81 m/s2. I knew I was in love with Bella Swan.


	12. Chapter 12

Please don't hate me after reading this chapie.

Enjoy! ^_^

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BPOV

Having Edward by my side made me feel suddenly calm. Everyone was freaking out about the accident; including Edward. After talking with him, he seemed to calm down too. I don't know of it was the drugs Carlisle had given me, but I liked being in Edward's arms. It felt comfortable and warm. I didn't want to ever let go. But my eyes seemed to disagree with my wishes. Before I knew it, I had fallen completely asleep. I don't know if Edward stayed with me for a little while longer, but when I woke up again, he was gone.

I was let go after a few days. Carlisle had already run every possible test on me and was 100% sure I had not broken anything. The one problem now was my car. Thankfully, nothing happened to it; it only had a dent to the side. The bad news was that I no longer had driving privileges. Which meant that Alice had to drive me to school now. This made her real happy. Me? Not so much. You have no idea what it's like having Alice as the designated driver. She would never shut up!

The teachers were nice to me. They gave me ample time to do my homework. I hadn't gone to school for jus a few days and already the teachers were treating me like a china doll. I couldn't complain. It felt really nice.

I hadn't seen Edward since that day at the hospital. He was acting weird all of a sudden. As if anything changed that day. Did I miss something? He was being too nice to me all of a sudden. While we walked to bio one day, I stopped dead in his tracks. If he was doing this because he felt sorry for me, I didn't need the attitude.

"Bella, I'm not doing this because I feel sorry for you. Or because I feel guilty. I swear, the guilt trip is over and done with. You're the one who said you wanted us to be friends. Or were you lying?" he asked me all too innocently. I opened my mouth to argue but had nothing. Damn! He was good. I would have to remember that next time. So, I let him carry my books as every day.

Let me tell you one thing. Most of you may enjoy being in the spot light or even wish you were but not me. I hated being the center of attention; I always have. That's why having a friend like Alice could be a bother sometimes. She liked people to show off. I liked hiding from the spotlight.

So having all of them; Alice, Rose, Edward, Emmet and Jasper treating me like a fragile thing that could break at any moment was getting on my nerves. I had one small accident; it wasn't going to be the end of the world. I tried making them see reason but it was like talking to a wall; none of them would listen to me.

Then, there was the issue of Jacob. He hadn't called since that day. I haven't heard from him at all. And I knew for a fact that Charlie ended his friendship with Billy because of what happened. I tried to argue with him and make him talk to Billy, but Charlie like everyone else, just ignored me. It came to a point where I just simple gave up and let everything be. It was not worth worrying. I was never going to forgive Jacob for what he did, so it was kind of selfish to make Charlie make up with Billie.

How did things get so complicated?

EPOV

After that day in the hospital, I needed some time to breathe. I still couldn't believe what I was feeling. I couldn't possibly be in love with Bella. But there it was; my heart did this thing when I saw her and I just liked seeing her smile. The pain that I just went through these last few hours was the proof. And it didn't help that Rose and Alice looked at me like a wanted criminal and pestered me with questions. I brushed them off, but I knew that sooner or later I would have to be open with my feelings and face them.

The day that Tanya was leaving, I drove to her place. Her parents were getting the bags into the trunk of the car and she was helping them. When she saw me she gave me this big smile, it made me feel guilty all over again. I had dumped her in a party I prepared after all. I was a bastard again.

She took my face in her hands and gave a reproachful look. "Edward… you have been a bad boy. You left cute me in the party last time" she laughed. I couldn't help but smile.

"Sorry, a friend of mine was in the hospital. I got worried. I didn't mean to be a bastard. Sorry" I responded.

"Is that person okay?" she asked me worried. God bless Tanya. If she only knew who I was talking about, she wouldn't feel this way. That's why I didn't mention Bella's name.

"Yeah. So… you're finally leaving. Have your parents already found you a good school? This is going to be your last semester"

"I made sure they did. And I already applied for Dartmouth and Harvard. I'll probably just end up going to the second one. But If I change my mind, I'll let you know, okay?" she then hugged me. "Thanks for everything Edward. I've been one of the luckiest girls in this world for meeting you" and kissed my check. Her parents called her to get into the van. It was time to go. I wanted to say one last thing but the words wouldn't come out. I wanted to say thank you too.

And so, I was left in the driveway alone. Tanya was gone for who knows how long. I would probably never see her again. I was going to miss her friendship terribly. Out of nowhere, a tear fell from my eye.

I went to Jasper's place next. I didn't want to be alone right now and I didn't want to go back to the hospital. When he caught me I swear he looked like he was about to kill me. I hardly ever get scared of Jasper, but at the moment, he seemed ready to make me pay for whatever I did wrong. Then I remembered. I hadn't helped the guys clean up after the bash. Damn.

"Jasper, I'm sorry. I got totally sidetracked. I'll…. I'll…" I started looking for something reasonable to do to make up for my absence.

"Save it Cullen. Just next time, don't bail on us without a decent explanation. Why the fuck would you get all worked up about Bella Swan anyways? You never cared about the girl! Why the change all of a sudden?" he started asking me. I looked away and tried avoiding the answer but Jasper turned around shocked. "No! Don't tell me! You can't be! No fucking way Edward! You can not be…. not with… come on Edward!" he started mumbling.

I sighed. There was no way of hiding the truth from Jasper. He knew how I was with girls. And he was right about this one. "What's the big deal anyways? What if I like her man? She's cool and she's smart, and… and…." a thousand compliments came to mind but I didn't want to sound corny. That would probably go badly with Jasper.

"Jesus! You really are crazy about her. How did that happen? This semester you seemed so different. What brought that? Not that I complain"

"I don't know. I really don't. One day I'm living the life, I have the girl every guy would die to have, and the next, I notice that I hate my life and I need to make a change. You could say I saw the light. And I think it was thanks to Bella. The way she sees through you and how she is so honest, it gets to me. It always made me laugh in Mr. Gibbs class when she started arguing with me about whatever book we were reading. And when he put us to do this project together… I thought it was going to be hell. But when I sit down and talk with her, I feel like I'm fighting with myself. She… I don't know…she's just great like that" I answer him. I was rambling incoherently; I knew that. But that's just the way Bella makes me be. I get all weird and nervous whenever I was close to her or thought about her.

Jasper looked at me with a raised brow and shook his head. He then went and touched my forehead as if I were sick or something. "Okay, who are you and what did you do to my friend?" he joked.

I pushed his hand away and tackled him. Just then Emmet came over with a pack of beer. When he saw us he put the pack down and joined the attack. It felt invigorating and so good to just spend time doing absolutely nothing.

After a good hours of watching a football game in Jasper's large Plasma TV, I drove back home. I was in a good mood now, and more than anything, I wanted to drive to see Bella again. I wondered how she would be doing. She should have been released by now. But then I thought better of it. She probably needed time and I didn't want to seem pushy. This time I would take it slow. Bella deserved that much.

So, I waited. I waited until she started coming to school. I'm not saying I made my move then because I didn't. I was just a friend to her. She didn't seem to enjoy my company though. Every time I went to help her with her stuff she would look at me annoyed and I knew she would find a way to complain. That wasn't enough to make me give up. She was hurt and I was going to help her, whether she wanted me to or not.

One afternoon I approached her locker while she was putting her books away. Class was over for the day. I tried saying something coherently but my head wasn't being helpful at the moment. And Bella wasn't helping, She didn't look happy to see me and it hurt my ego a bit. I expected her to be all friendly with but then again, I've been living in fantasy land lately. I know Bella, and she wasn't going to accept me openly in her life just yet.

BPOV

When I closed my locker and noticed Edward standing next to it, I almost had a heart attack. I wasn't expecting to see him; not at this time of day. There was something weird in his behavior lately. Maybe I was being his charity case, but it wasn't normal of him to be so caring with me. It worried me a little bit. But what was I going to do about it? I couldn't just tell him to leave me alone. That would be rude. And I hated being rude, even to people I supposedly hated.

I sighed. I tended to do this a lot whenever I was around Edward. "What's up Edward?" I asked. I tried to be polite. I already lost a friend, I wasn't about to lose another one again.

"Bella…um…do you….maybe…would you like to…um…" he started mumbling. I just giggled. It always made me laugh when Edward got this nervous. It made him look cute and adorable. I don't know what makes him like this, but he was being too cute. Then again, is he trying to ask me out? It can't be.

"Edward, just spill it. It's okay. I won't bite" I joked. He was suddenly mute as if my words surprised him or something.

"Yeah…um…I was wondering if you would like to work on our project today. We got started on our discussion the last time…" he rolled his eyes as if the topic of that night made him uncomfortable.

I took his hand and looked directly into his eyes. "Don't feel bad about that night. It's all forgotten. And we do have to work on that thing. We have only a month to finish it. Mr. Gibbs was telling us that we needed to make an exposition of our conclusion too. So, at what time would you like me to stop by?"

We agreed that I would go to his place an hour from now. I needed time to prepare and clean myself up. When I was ready, I called a cab to take me to Edward's place. Charlie may not be allowing me to drive but he was okay if I got a ride somehow. As long as I was not the one behind the wheel I could go out.

I was five minutes early, and I wished I was five minutes late. For some reason, what I saw in front of me shocked me and broke me to pieces.

When I rang the doorbell to the Cullen household, a beautiful brunette opened the door. She was only wearing a guy's shirt. I have seen this scene all too many times. I know what it means for a girl to be dressed like that. I am not an idiot. I may be a virgin and an ignorant to sex but this much I knew. Seconds later Edward appeared in the doorway with his hair a mess and yawning as if he just woke up. When he saw me I could see the fear in his eyes.

Before I knew it, tears were falling from my eyes and I was running from the place. Well, walking fast is more accurate. I couldn't run with my wounds. I may not be wearing a cast or anything like it, but my leg still hurt a little from the accident.

I could hear Edward calling my name frantically. But I didn't stop. I just kept walking, until he finally caught my arm and stopped me. Even then, I didn't face him. I wasn't going to give him the pleasure of watching me cry again. Was there a pattern somewhere? Why did I always end up crying whenever I was around him? Why did it hurt so much to imagine him with anyone else? It wasn't like I had feelings for the guy or something.

"Let me go! Let me go Edward!" I screamed. Tears were falling more continuously now .I tried fighting him off and pushing him away but he was not going to give up, and he was so strong. I never pictured him to have such a strong grip.

"Bella, let me explain. Please!" he pleaded. I shook my head and finally he let me go. My silence spoke for itself. And he seemed to get the message. "Fine, have it your way Bella. But just so you know. I have no feelings for Natalia. She was just a girl that Emmet sent to my place out of the blue. Nothing happened!" he said.

I finally looked at him. It was clear that I was beyond angry now. "That seems to be the thing with you. Nothing ever happens with you, does it? That's just it, right? Why don't you just keep lying to yourself?! Stop trying to be someone you're not! You don't have to be my friend! I don't…. I don't want to be anyone's charity case. So stop it! Stop trying to be nice to me! It's always been awkward between us Edward; ever since we were little. That will never change. So…just…stop pretending" I snapped. I could feel how my words sank in his mind. It was like stabbing him. I wished I hadn't said any of that. I don't know where it all came from. But once said, there was no going back. I turned around and walked away.

This time, Edward didn't stop me.

It was over. Our friendship was over.


	13. Chapter 13

I promise, shit always happens for a reason. Be patient!

And anyone who wants to enlist to kill Emmet, just write a review and we can gather around and plan a way to get him ^_^

Love you all!!!

Enjoy! ^_^

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EPOV

It was official. Emmet and Rosalie broke up. Well, to be exact, she broke up with him. Somehow it had gotten around to that idiot that I had fallen for Bella, and when he found out he had to the most fucking stupid thing he could ever do. He sent one of the whores from school to my place.

I had just taken a shower when I hear the doorbell. I thought that it would be Bella at the door and hurried to open it. Imagine my surprise when I find Natalia Bruce in a dress so short you could almost see whatever she was trying to hide between her legs and cleavage that would leave any horny boy begging to sleep with him. I however; am not that kind of guy.

I was going to close the door in her face but she beat me to it and came in. I rolled my eyes at her self invitation. I knew this would bring complications that I would love to avoid. I still had half an hour to get her out of the house. But, I just had to be a saint or an angle today of all days because I jus couldn't ask her to leave without being rude to her. After the way I treated Tanya. I didn't want to treat any other girl the same way.

"Natalia….what….why are you here?" I asked the woman.

She just shrugged and went up to my room, as if she owned the place. This was pissing me off. Here I was; trying to not be an asshole and she was being a bitch. Clearly, you can never win when it comes to women.

I tried to stop her but I also didn't want to use any kind of force with her. That meant no grabbing or pushing. So, in simpler words, I was in a dilemma here. I still didn't know what the fuck this girl was doing in my room and who told her to come. One name came to mind and at the time I ignored that thought. That was one of my mistakes.

By this time, she was already in my room taking her dress off. Let me tell you, I never gave her any message or any insinuation that I wanted to have sex. I only followed her. But she just wouldn't stop! Do you know how irritating this can be? And even more, when she grabbed my arm and pulled me to her and threw me onto my bed and put herself on top of me. Even though at this angle I could clearly see her breasts, I didn't get any reaction. So, I got fed up with everything and pushed her away. Since she was naked at this point; and I do mean completely nude with no panties or bras on. I grabbed her dress and gave it to her. Thank God by this point she had gotten my message. At least I thought she did. I should have known better.

I left the room so that she could have some privacy, and went downstairs to look for something to eat in the kitchen. Suddenly, I was very hungry. I was planning on asking Natalia to leave in a few minutes. That was the plan. Someway or another this plan failed and kicked me in the ass. Not that I didn't deserve that. I probably did.

What happened was that Bella had to be 5 minutes early. And I still hadn't been able to get Natalia to leave. And what was worse was that she was only wearing one of my shirts. That bitch should have gone through my closet and gotten a shirt of mine. I was pretty pissed by this point and didn't give a rat's ass if I was being nice or not. This was not going well. And when the doorbell rang yet again, she beat to the door and opened it. This was my doom; it really was. I wished I was dead.

The way Bella looked made me feel torn in two. I wanted so much to hold her and tell her that nothing happened. I wanted to comfort her and assure her that I didn't like anyone else. But I was no idiot. I could tell that I had hurt her; again; maybe not intentionally. But there was pain reflected in her eyes. And I was the only one to blame for that.

When she started running away from me, I did the natural thing to do. I went after her. I don't know if it was the smartest thing to do, because things did end up going badly for me. But if I hadn't chased after her, I would have never known how she really felt about me.

You may be wondering how the hell I knew that it was Emmet who sent Natalia. Well, even you have to admit that it doesn't take a real genius to figure that one out. Besides, Jasper called sometime during the fiasco and confessed to spilling the beans to Mr. Dufus.

Now I'm locked in my room, with the music on high, and I haven't showered in two days. I have gone downstairs to eat, but I immediately go back to my room and lock myself again. Jasper tried to get me out of the room but failed miserably. I was pissed at everything and everyone. I had lost Bella's trust. Why? Because I was the biggest jerk in the face of the earth.

I found out about the break up thru Alice. She just blurted it out during dinner one night. It shocked me to hear that. I always thought that Rosalie and Emmet were inseparable. Something really bad must have happened to get those two separated.

Alice's response was the thing that surprised me the most. "When Rose found out what Emmet did with Natalia, she just lost it. She and Emmet had a big fight and well. it ended their relationship. Emmet was just too stupid to know what he did wrong and it made Rose really angry. She knew what you felt for Bella, and felt bad for what Emmet did" she said calmly.

"How did she find out? Did Jasper tell you?" I asked irritated.

"Of course he did. There are no secrets between us Edward. Jasper trusts me completely. And besides, you never told him it was a big secret. So, I told Rose and Rose told Emmet. Like I said, in our group there are no secrets. And don't feel bad. I love you Edward and I want you to be happy. If you're happy with Bella then I'm happy for you both. But I warn you, if you hurt our Belllie in any way, Rose and I will torture you. I don't care if you're my brother. She's my best friend" she answered. I was touched, As annoying as Alice could be at times; she was also the best sister in the whole world.

That didn't get me out of my depression. I still felt sad and down. I needed some counseling. Bella had really gotten to me and I missed her. I was afraid of going back to school because then I would have to face her and her hatred towards me. That would be like receiving daggers from her. I wasn't ready for that.

When I stopped going to school, Emmet and Jasper pulled me out of bed. Emmet had broken the door to get into my room. This was one of the things that set me off. The second was his attitude.

"Edward! You're being an idiot my staying here and moping over a girl you never had" he told me. This statement might be true but it still hurt. I didn't need anyone telling me that and much less Emmet. Not after what he did.

Don't be surprised; but I really lost it. I hardly ever got into fights. This time I couldn't help myself. Emmet was not making it easy for me. "You asshole! Whose fucking fault do you think this is?! Who's the one who called Natalia?! Huh?! What the fuck were you thinking man?! Rose told you!! She told you how I felt about Bella!! What gave you the moronic idea that I would want to sleep with someone else?!" I yelled.

"Hey!! You're the one who's always saying that you're a player. A player never falls for another girl! You were losing it Edward! You just needed a push in the right direction. Besides, what would one more do? Huh? You've slept with slutty girls before. And you are not officially with Bella yet" he defended himself.

I punched him. I could see the blood purring from his nose and felt better. Emmet deserved this and maybe more. Someone had to knock some sense into him. "not anymore thanks to you. I wanted to be with Bella!! And for you information! I lied! Okay? I told you guys a fucking lie. I never slept with anyone. I'm still a fucking virgin just like Jasper. Happy?" I answered sarcastically.

Emmet was not happy for being punched, and really, I was not expecting anything less from him. That's how we started kicking and grabbing, and punching, and hitting. We basically kicked each other's butt. Jasper just stood there watching. Damn him! He was smart. He knew that it was best not to get involved and to just let me and Emmet vent. He was probably planning on calling Carlisle when the job was done.

After a kick in the gut, a broken nose, and a bloody mouth, Emmet and I stopped. We were both out of it by this time. I could hardly stand up and naturally fell to the floor. He did the same. I could hear Jasper dialing a number and watched Emmet. Our gazes met, but now, it was not filled with anger. I was past that now. I had already made Emmet pay for what he did.

"Edward….I'm…I'm…" he swallowed. "I'm sorry….I should have…I should have known…you liked her…sorry" he said. He was totally out of breath. I didn't respond. I didn't have anything to say to him.

I got up and left for my room again. When Carlisle came back from work he treated me and Emmet. I was glad he didn't give us a lecture or anything. I think he expected this to happen at some point.

Before I could leave the kitchen, Alice stopped me. "Edward, you can't keep hiding yourself in your room. Don't think you're the only one hurting here. I know you and Bella both and you two are getting on my nerves! I know that Bella likes you Edward. I can feel it. And it hurts me to see two people who are close to me getting hurt. So, I told Emmet to explain to Bella what happened. That ought to help in some way" she explained.

"You don't get it, do you? Bella doesn't want me in her life! She never did. So stop fantasizing! She made her feelings quite clear the other day. So I'm letting her go. You should be happy Alice, At least that way I won't be able to hurt her anymore" I stated firmly and left.

The thing about school is that you can't run away from it forever. It is bound to come after you one way or another. And this time it was through the Winter Dance. I had planned to go with Tanya at the beginning of the school year, but now things changed. For the first time in all my years of high school, I didn't have a date. Not that I even cared. I wasn't planning on going anyways.

Alice felt differently however, and you know what Alice is like. Once she sets her mind to anything, she usually gets what she wants. And this time she wanted me to go to the Winter dance, even if I was dateless.

"Alice… why is it so important to you? It's just a stupid dance! Besides, I've already gone to my share of dances. I just don't want to go to this one" I tried explaining to her.

Alice was not having it. She was ignoring me. "Edward, you're gonna rent a tux and go the winter dance, even if I have to pull you all the way there. This is the last dance you'll ever go to. Well, to be more precise, this is going to be your last high school activity. You have to go. It's like going to prom. We need you there, okay?" she told me and that was that.

So that was that and now I am currently at Dillard's taking measurements for my tux. The guys are here with me too. Jasper didn't seem to mind and Emmet just called this his penguin suit. I couldn't complain. Emmet was just as dateless as I was.

"You haven't made up with Rose yet?" I asked him as we drove off for Chili's. Our shopping spree was done for the day.

"Nope. She is too stubborn for her own good, you know? It was one small mistake and even you forgave me for it. I don't get why she just can't forget about it. I am human after all" he replied.

"Emmet, I don't think Edward has forgiven you just yet. He just came with us because Alice didn't leave him with much of a choice. And secondly, you hurt Rose's best friend really bad. That ought to make her really pissed for quite some time" Jasper explained.

I just let them argue away. I didn't care about their quarrel anyways. I just wanted this day to be over with. It had been officially five days since I last saw Bella, and it was making me miserable. I couldn't even write well anymore. I needed my muse. Now that I remembered, Bella and I had to show our project to the class in only a couple of weeks and we hadn't even started writing the paper yet. She probably talked to Mr. Gibbs and begged him to let her do it independently. I didn't care anymore about that either. He could give me an F for it.

After a week of being absent in school, I decided to go back. When I saw Bella I felt like someone stabbed me in the chest. She ignored me all day long and in every class. Not that I did anything to call her attention. I didn't talk during English class and in biology I found out she had a new lab partner. I think his name was Mark. And that meant I had to do the fucking lab by myself.

By the end of they day I came to the conclusion that it was best lave things this way. Bella might be better off without a loser like me. I had way too much baggage for her to hold and clearly she never saw me as anything important in her life.


	14. Chapter 14

Lol!!! I just laughed my ass off at your comments!

You make me so happy ^_^

And don't worry! Like everything in life, Bella and Edward will have rought patches that will just make their relationship stronger.

I'll upload chaper 15 as soon as I can. It's already finished so I only have to move it to my Sandisk and upload it here.

Keep up the comments. I am curious as to what you'll think of the upcoming drama.

Love you!

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BPOV

I tried as hard as I could to ignore Edward. I had decided that it was best to just let things take its natural course. And fate had made it pretty obvious that Edward and I couldn't be friends. Even if Emmet tried to explain that the whole Natalia thing was his idea. Because the whole problem wasn't even about that. It had nothing to do with that girl. I was just tired of all the drama and all the fights Edward and I constantly had. If it was going to be that way then maybe he and I were better off not acknowledging each other's existence.

And it didn't help that Rose and Alice constantly harassed me about him either. I just didn't understand them! They were the ones that told me to stay the hell away from him. They warned me that he would hurt me a lot. And they were right. So why were they pleading with me to talk to him? Why now?

Another thing that pissed me off was Alice's constant nagging about the Winter dance. I didn't want to go, but she kept on insisting for me to go. Finally, she kidnapped me and took me to Dillard's to buy a dress, which I hated. I even hated the whole stupid idea of the dance. I wasn't going to do anything there! I couldn't dance without stepping on my partner's feet or tripping. That's how bad I was. And to make matters worse, I didn't even have a partner!

That's right I didn't have a date. Not that guys didn't ask me out. I received like five offers but I turned down all of them. I just couldn't imagine myself going with either of them. I would rather prefer to stay at home and watch Resident Evil I and II.

Finally, the nigh of the dance came. Alice kidnapped me yet again and took me to her place to do a make-over on me. As if that would help. No matter how I looked I was sure to make a fool out of myself one way or another.

Just out of curiosity, I asked Rose. "What happened between you and Emmet?"

She looked all innocent. "What do you mean? I already told you we broke up"

"Yeah, but you never told me why" I insisted.

"He was being an idiot. That's all. Nothing to worry about Bella. Believe me, I am better off without him. I can find better guys". And that was that. She wasn't going to say anything more and I wasn't going to push it out of her. I have suddenly lost the will to fight anymore. What would be the point if I was going to lose anyways?

Rose and Alice were pros. That much I can say. When they showed me the mirror I couldn't even recognize myself. Rose had brushed my hair and made stylish curls on top, I wasn't wearing that much make up but enough to accentuate my eyes and my lips, and my dress actually looked good on me. I even noticed for the first time that I had breasts. Wonder how that happened.

"Wear this" Alice told me handing me a mask. I looked at her questioningly. Then I remembered. This year's theme was centered on Cinderella and the whole find your prince thing. The whole idea was to hide your identity and just fit in.

An hour later, Jasper came to pick us up. Given that Rose and I didn't have a date, he had to give us a ride to the dance. This didn't seem to bother Rose at all; which surprised me. She would normally be bitching about not having someone take her to the dance and that it was lame to be escorted by your best friend's boyfriend. Things like that. I didn't mention this detail though. It didn't seem important at the moment.

The party was in full swing by the time we arrived. Everyone was either dancing or talking. I looked around and felt out of place. I hated parties. Everyone was having a good time and I knew I was going to be miserable. Besides, last time I went to a party I got drunk and almost got raped. I shuddered at the memory.

As was expected, I sat at a table with Rose, while Alice and Jasper enjoyed their romantic moments. After a few minutes a guy I knew to be Emmet asked Rose to dance with him and I was left alone. Great.

EPOV

"Hey man, I'm gonna ask that pretty babe to dance with me. Wish me luck!" Emmet told me.

"Um… Emmet….that's Rose" I told him. It was pretty obvious who that girl was. She might be wearing a mask, but that thing didn't hide the scowl in her face. She was getting sick and tired of sitting with whomever she came with. I wondered if that was Bella, but I couldn't recognize her. The girl that was sitting with Rosalie was beautiful. No, more than that. She was a vision. Her short blue dress was somewhat revealing. It was slightly open to the front, showing a bit of her breasts but just a little. Her complexion was pearl white and her lips looked ready to be kissed.

I shook my head at the though. I couldn't be thinking about this girl now. I was supposed to be infatuated by Bella. My feelings were supposed to be reserved for her. But then again, she didn't want me, so why should I care about her?

I debated over and over in my head whether to go and talk to the girl or not. Finally, I just gave up and went to her. She was sitting all alone looking miserable, might as well be a gentle man and offer my companionship for the night.

BPOV

I was just about to give up for the night and go looking for Alice but then a gentle voice called my attention. I lifted my gaze and saw that he was offering me his hand.

"Would you like to dance my fair lady?" he asked me. What a cliché, he sounded like a player and I wasn't going to be part of his game. So I stood up and started to leave. If I knew guys like him, the best tactic would be to just ignore the guy. If you talked to them then you were trapped in his mind game and he would be persistent, and you would lose. This guy didn't seem to get the message though. He followed me until I turned and faced him.

Okay, time to use plan B. Be as kind as possible and get rid of him. "Look, I'm sorry, but I really don't like to dance and I have to go home. Um… a family emergency just came up" I lied. I said the first thing that came to mind.

He smiled. "I think you're lying. And I am usually right about these kinds of things. I don't think you have a family emergency at all or else you would be frantically worried right now. Besides, you never got a call." he replied.

This took me by surprise. "Were you watching me this whole time?" I asked him.

This time he didn't just smile, he laughed too. He actually started laughing. I felt like he was making fun of me, so I turned around and stated walking away. He stopped me midway by grabbing my arm.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? But you really can't blame me for looking at you." he looked me up and down. "I mean, have you watched yourself in a mirror? I don't think I'm the only one who has noticed you tonight" he whispered.

I could feel myself turning red. "Thanks" I said uncomfortably.

"Just one dance. Please" he asked again. I tried saying no again and using my poor dancing skills as an excuse but he wasn't going to buy it. "It's all in the leading. You'll see" he winked at me.

I didn't have anything else to say and no way to get myself out of this one. So I accepted his offer and took his hand. Once in the dance floor, he put one hand in my waist and took my left hand. I mimicked his position and let him lead me. Given that we were dancing to a very rhythmic music, I was expecting to fall or trip like twenty times. But somehow my feet and hips responded to his movements. And I wasn't even looking down, like I would normally do. The whole time my focus was on his eyes. I was mesmerized by them. It felt like I was in a different world and there was no one else but me and him. I even forgot for a second that we were dancing and that our bodies were so close to one another. I could feel himself harden with the proximity of my hip, and felt a rush surge through my body. The room suddenly seemed to get warmer and warmer and I hadn't even drunk any kind of liquor in the whole night.

"See? Told you if wouldn't be too bad" he whispered in my ear. I felt how my skin filled with goose bumps and sighed. I knew I was beyond red at this point. I was hot!

At the end of the piece he let me fall, but held me in place with one arm behind my back. Then he lifted me back up.

"That was…wow" I said out of breath and out of words. We were both sweating.

"It's all in the lead" he smiled. "Do you want to get out and get some fresh air? It looks like the room got a bit too warm"

"Sure" I agreed, He took my hand and led me outside. The wind was blowing a bit and the breeze felt cool on my skin. I breathed deeply and let the feeling soak in. I heard my partner laugh next to me and returned a questioning look.

"You were hot too?" he asked.

My face went bright red for the nth time. I don't know what was wrong with me tonight or why I was acting this way around this guy. He just seemed to have his ways of making me uncomfortable. I was never like this around guys. Normally it was easy to be around them. We would joke around and be playful but I never got nervous around them. And this guy made me have chills up my spine. Not the bad spooky kind, but the good kind, where your heart starts to race and you are left breathless for seconds.

"Sorry, I made you uncomfortable, didn't I?" he asked. I shook my head no and he laughed again. "You know, at first, I didn't want to come to this lame dance. I didn't have a date and the place would just give me bad memories" he confessed.

By this time I found my voice again. "Why? Did something bad happen?" I asked him.

Now it was his turn to feel uncomfortable. He turned around and looked at the night sky. "I… I had these feelings for this girl…and….things just didn't go well with her"

I don't usually ask too many questions but this guy just made me curious. It sure didn't look like he was thinking about someone else while he was dancing with me. "What happened?"

He turned to face me again. "We just didn't click. That's all. I wanted her but she didn't feel the same way about me. She made it very clear to me that we couldn't even be friends"

"She told you that? She told she didn't want anything to do with you?" I asked again. I know I was pushing it but he looked like he needed to vent or something.

"Not exactly. She told me that it was a bad idea to be friends. You see, I never got around to tell her how I felt about her"

I reached out and took his hand. "You have to. She might feel the same way about you and maybe she just said those words without thinking. Believe me, I've done that. I've hurt a friend of mine recently and regretted it. If I could turn back the clock I would stop myself from saying what I said. You might still have a chance. Convince her that it's not a bad idea to be friends or even more than that" I told him.

He smiled at me. "Thank you. I think I needed to hear someone tell me that. By the way, I never got around to asking your name…" he was saying but then someone called my name.

"Bella! Where are you? We have to go! There's an after party and Alice want to go!" Rose shouted.

I felt the guy let go of my hand and look at me shocked.

EPOV

Please tell me I was having a nightmare. I did not just confess to Bella. I did not just tell her about what happened between us. I was nervous for a moment and scared that she might put two and two together. But then I remembered I was wearing a mask. She didn't know who I was. I could just lie about who I was. I mean, I could be anyone. If I was lucky, Bella hadn't seen me talk to Emmet tonight.

I heard her laugh nervously and look down. She was blushing again. It looked cute in her. "I guess that answers your question, doesn't it? I'm Bella Swan. And you are?" she asked in her cute shy voice.

For a moment I forgot my voice and my mind went blank, but only for a second. "I'm…um…JT" I lied. It was the first name that came to mind.

"Well JT. It's nice to meet you" she held our her hand and I shook it.

"Just out of curiosity, if this friend of yours with whom you supposedly hurt told you that he had feelings for you, how would you react?" I asked her. I tried to be as secretive as possibly. I know I was walking on ice right now and any moment everything could crumble away.

"Um… It might get uncomfortable. But… I think…"she was saying but Rose came out again and this time dragged her away. Bella didn't even have a chance to apologize. And I didn't get a chance to hear her answer. What the hell would she think? That it was too much? That she couldn't handle it? Damn it! Why did things have to be so damn complicated? Here I had Bella poring her feelings out; I had her telling me what she felt, and Rose just had to come and ruin it for me.

Well, maybe this was fate telling me not to do anything rash or stupid.


	15. Chapter 15

As promised, here is chapter 15.

For the rest of the week I won't be uploading any new chapters, but that doesn't mean you guys have to stop writing reviews. I still want to read them and know what you think of the current situation between our little couple.

So, please write. ^_^

I'll see you guys in a week!

Love you!

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BPOV

I wanted to stay a few more minutes with JT, but Rose wouldn't let go of me. This really irritated me. It was rude of her to be this way and it wasn't my fault that she had to come alone to this stupid dance. No one forced her to come.

The after party was at a hotel suite in Seattle. People were either drunk or making out here. I tried to weasel my way out of going but Alice and Rose needed a designated driver. So I was stuck. I hoped to God that JT would be there. He might make things more interesting there. Taking into consideration that this was the life of the evening, there was a high possibility of finding him there. Then again, I didn't know what he looked like. I knew what he was wearing but that was about it. And he didn't know what I looked like either. Damn it, now how I was going to find him? The one cute guy I meet tonight and there is zero chance of seeing him again; great. That put a damper on things.

"Bells, cheer up. I'm sure you'll meet your mystery man here. He will recognize you by your dress, so don't worry" Rose tried to cheer me up and then she left. Again, I was left all alone.

I guess you're wondering what happened to Jasper. He had to be a designated driver too; for Emmet. I asked if Edward was going to be there but both girls said they didn't know. He had brought Alice's car over so that I could drive them to the hotel but they didn't know where he went after that. I think Emmet knew but there was no way of getting the information from him since he and Rose broke up.

Complicated, right?

I searched frantically for JT. Hoping that he would be there. But all I saw were people kissing, or drinking, or dancing. Suddenly, I felt someone tap my shoulder and turned around.

It was Edward, and he was wearing the same outfit JT was wearing. Then it all made sense, and I felt the blood rush to my head. I had to get out of there. This was not happening. This wasn't real.

I walked away until I reached the elevator. Edward was following me and calling after me; I just ignored him until he grabbed my shoulder and turned me around to face him.

"You're not running away Bella. Not anymore" he told me.

I looked down at the floor and then back at him. I was shaking. "Why? Why did you lie to me back there? You knew who I was! And you deliberately lied about who you were!" I shouted.

"Wow! Hold it. I didn't know who you were until Rose called out your name. And yes, when I found out who you were I panicked. I couldn't tell you who I was…not without…" he froze. He seemed to want to keep that last part a secret.

"Not without what? What? You wanted to pry into my feelings a bit more? Humiliate me more?" I asked him. I was starting to cry. Why did this always happen with him?

"Not without knowing how you felt about me! Damn it Bella! I've tried and I've tried to get into your heart. To be your friend, to try to be part of your life! But you just kept pushing me away! And then you said that I was hanging out with you out of pity. Do you know how fucked up that sounds?" he was now screaming too. And he wasn't making any sense. It was true that I accused him of that, but I wasn't thinking at the moment. I was too mad and hurt.

"Edward… Don't you see? This is exactly what I wanted to avoid! I am tired of crying" I cleared a tear from my eye. "Whenever I get close to you something happens and I end up in tears"

"Bella, I don't want that. If anything, I want to be the one to make you happy. But you won't let me. You won't even let me tell you how I feel about you. What happened to the girl I danced with tonight?" he asked.

"She didn't know who she was dancing with. If she did, she would have never given the guy the time of day. To think that I actually talked to you about…" I was saying but stopped. I didn't want to say the words because they weren't even true. It would be a lie. If I really loved Edward, I wouldn't be feeling the way I felt right now. My chest was aching and I couldn't stop crying.

"Talked to me about what? I'm the one who poured his feelings out there! Don't you remember what I said?" he asked me.

"What? About the girl you had feelings for? Congrats, have you told her yet? I'm sure she would be more than lucky to have you. Come to think of it, you guys already hooked up, didn't you? It's that girl from the other day, right?" I was now rambling. I don't think I was making any sense either.

"Damn it Bella! It's not Natalia! Didn't Emmet tell you? It was his fault she was there in the first place. I tried to get her to leave before you came over. I tried explain all of this to you, but you just wouldn't listen. Like I said, you keep pushing me away. Why?"

I wanted to leave. I couldn't have this conversation with him. I was scared to know how things would end up. I didn't want to hear him talk about some other girl he liked. I already felt bad as it was.

"Edward… I can't….we can't" I told him.

"Give me one good reason" he asked me. I had none. I had already told him all of my reasons. He was the one who wouldn't believe me.

"Bella, I love you. I can't control it. I just know that's the way that I feel. You can push me away as much as you want but I'm just going to keep on pulling myself back. I don't want to lose you again. But if you really don't want me, just say the words and I'll disappear from your life" he finally confessed.

I was totally taken my surprise. I didn't know what to say to any of that. I never expected him to tell me that he had those kinds of feelings for me. I didn't even know what I felt for him. I never gave it much thought.

He didn't push me into deciding though. "If you need time to think I can give it to you. You can have all the time in the world. Just…please…think about it" he said. He then took my head in his hands and kissed me gently in the lips. I wanted it to continue but he pushed me away.

As he walked away, I wanted to go after him, but my legs wouldn't move. I was frozen there. I kept on going back to his words and tried to find some sense to it all. How did this happen? When did he start to feel that way? More importantly, did I feel the same way about him?

EPOV

There, I said it. There was no going back now. The ball was in her court. If she didn't want to be with me, that was fine by me. I was leaving in a few months anyways. I could probably find someone else in Dartmouth.

Who was I kidding? I wanted Bella and only her. I couldn't think of anyone else.

I needed to go somewhere and cool myself down. Problem was there were horny teenagers everywhere. I had Jasper's car keys, since he gave them to me after bringing me here. I know it's all confusing as to who drove where tonight, so let me put it in simpler terms.

I drove Emmet to the dance using Alice's Porsche. Then Emmet got drunk and I didn't want to be the designated driver, so Jasper drove us both here in his car, while Bella drove the girls here in Alice's car.

After walking in the hotel for a few minutes, somehow I ended up in the pool. I didn't get in; I just sat in one of the benches and contemplated the stars. It relaxed me to do that. Sometimes I wished I were out there, in space, where there was no one, there were no problems, no fights, nothing; just peace and tranquility.

God, I needed a drink. This thing with Bella was getting on my nerves. I couldn't stop thinking about her, and my brain kept on taking me back to that moment when I told her what I felt for her. She looked shocked and scared. I shouldn't have said anything. Whatever happened to just letting go? Why did I have to be so fucking stubborn?

Just then I heard the gate open and someone walk in. I felt as if an electric shock went through my body, when I noticed who it was. I wasn't expecting to see her again tonight. Her body shone under the moonlight and she looked like a goddess. My heart started to race from the very moment I locked eyes with her. My brain went completely blank. All arguments that I was previously having went out the window.

"Hey…"she said. Awkward; of course. I chastised myself for putting her in this uncomfortable position.

"Bella…about what I said before…"I started to argue but she stopped me midsentence.

"Don't worry about it. After you left, I actually started thinking about it and… I'm sorry. I can't…" I felt my chest ache and the world started crumbling down. "I can't tell you my answer just yet. You may know what you feel about me, but I don't. I never really gave it much thought. In my head I only saw you as Alice's older brother and my rival" she laughed. "But, after hanging out with you I noticed that I actually had fun with you. My whole perspective of what you were like changed for me. I don't know whether to see it as love or just a friendly feeling. It's the first time I actually feel like this…and I just…I need some time to think about it. But I don't want you to hate me for it. You're a great guy Edward, and I would hate it if you felt that I was being unfair with you" she explained.

I got up from the bench and went to her side. I took her hand and kissed it. I could see her blush and it just made her even more beautiful than before. "I don't think that. I don't want to push you Bella. I told you, if you need a million years to decide, I'll you that time. Besides, I just broke up with Tanya, remember? I'm not in a hurry to get in a relationship. So take all the time you need. I'll be here. I promise" I confessed.

"Are you saying that you don't want to get in a relationship? Wow, and here I thought that since you loved me you would want to have one with me. Guess I was wrong. So, what do you want me to be? An affair?" she joked. I couldn't believe she turned this situation into a joke. She was unbelievable

"I didn't mean it like that. I do want to have a relationship with you but only when you're ready" I corrected her.

She walked toward the pool and sat, getting her legs under the water. I hadn't noticed when she took off her shoes. "How about… we start off by just hanging out? Then we'll see where things flow. Of course, you'll have to ask me on a date first"

I went to her side and sat next to her. "I think I can do that. And tonight doesn't count?" I asked.

"You didn't ask me to come here with you" she answered.

Just then I had a brilliant idea. At least it seemed brilliant at the time. I've always felt intrigued as to what it would be like to swim naked. And the water did seem to be warm. I gave Bella a mischievous look and started laughing. Then, before she could stop me, I pushed her into the pool. I couldn't help myself; it was too easy.

"Edward! What…."she started asking but then I jumped into the pool and made a huge splash. I could see that Bella was mad, but nor for long. She started throwing water at me and I retaliated. We played for a while like that; as if we were just little kids. She didn't seem to mind getting wet and neither did I. For that just one moment, we were in our own carefree world. And nothing could be better than that.

If I thought Bella looked beautiful before, it was nothing compared to how she looked right now, in front of my very eyes. Her auburn curls were undone and water was dripping from the end of them, her eyes sparkled with intensity, and her lips were blue and shivering. Just looking at her, I couldn't help myself. She was mine for the taking and there was no way I was missing that shot.

Slowly, I inched myself forward and leaned my head, giving her the message, which she seemed to accept readily, and kissed her. At first, it was going to be only a peck. If she didn't want to continue I would have stopped. But she seemed eager to deepen it. Her arms were around my neck and mine held her waist in place. She opened her mouth for me to enter and I went to heaven. It was the first time that I actually enjoyed a kiss, or that just a mere kiss got me so hot. As he tongue fought with mine, I was having a fight of my very own under my pants. As our kiss intensified, I pulled her body closer to mine, feeling every inch of it. Her breasts felt so soft against my chest, and I could sense that her nipples were getting hard too. This was getting me way on edge. If I didn't stop this, it would end up in both us losing our virginity in the hotel pool. Romantic? I don't think so.

Out of nowhere, I heard her moan, and my problems just got way worse. If she was going to make sounds like that there was no way I was going to control my dick. One of my hands left her waist and went up to grab one of her breasts and she moaned again. She seemed to be enjoying this as much as I was, or else she would be pushing me away, right?

My hands were acting on their very own. I swear, if I had any self control left in my brain, I would have stopped before any of this got out of hand. But she just kept on pushing it. Bella was making me lose it real bad. And now my fingers were playing with her nipple and I was kissing her neck.

Just when I was about to let my other hand touch her somewhere more dangerous, she pushed me away. And thank god she did. It didn't help that she was now completely out of breath, but I wasn't going to count my losses.

She got out of the pool and went to grab a couple of towels. I was already out of the pool by the time she came back.

Her dress was drenched as would be expected, but that just made it easier for me to notice how hard her nipples were after our little rendezvous.

We were both speechless for a moment, and I felt the need to apologize for my behavior back there. "Bella…I…I'm sorry"

She looked at me as if I just went nuts. Maybe I did. "Why are you sorry? We didn't do anything neither one of us wanted to do. But I think this wouldn't help take it slow, would it? So let's try to not let it happen again, okay?" she assured me.

Before she left, she kissed me almost as passionately as she did back at the pool and smiled mischievously at me. "Thank you for tonight"


	16. Chapter 16

BPOV

I don't know what just happened back there, but I do know that I liked it. And that scared me shitless. I have never been kissed till tonight, and Edward kissed…great. I wanted to stay a while longer, but I knew that if did, there was no guarantee that we wouldn't do something that could change our relationship for good. Besides, I wasn't ready to lose my virginity and I wasn't going to lose it the hotel pool.

As soon as I felt that his hands were going places, I had to stop him. There was no telling what would have happened if I let him have his way.

When Alice and Rose found me, the first thing they did was hug me and try to keep me warm, the second was question me and interrogate me like a wanted criminal.

"Girls, nothing happened. Okay? Let's just go, please. And Rose, can I stay at your place tonight? I don't think Charlie would be too happy to see me like this" I asked Rose.

Alice seemed to be offended by my question. "Why don't you want to stay at my place?" she asked. But then Edward came in and Alice seemed to get the big picture. She didn't say anything though.

So it was settled. Alice, Rose and I would be staying at Rose's for the night, while the guys spent some quality time together at Jasper's.

Once in the privacy of Alice's car, the girls kept on their interrogation. I should have known this wasn't going to go lightly. They were relentless.

"What happened? Why were you and Edward wet? What were you doing?" Alice asked me. Rose just kept quiet and let our pixie doll do the questioning.

"Nothing happened Alice. He just pushed me into the pool and then threw himself in. That's all. It was just pure innocent fun" I told them. I knew they weren't going to buy that and thankfully they kept quiet after that.

The rest of the night is a blur for me. After what happened with Edward, I couldn't think of anything else. It all seemed like such a good fantasy and I wanted it to continue. I really did.

Edward didn't seem to let time beat him. He came over to my place the next afternoon, carrying a bouquet of red carnations. He was lucky Charlie was working till late this week or else they would have been a huge misunderstanding here.

I let Edward into the living room, while I looked for a vase to put the flowers in. Neither one of us said anything for a while. The house was very quiet with the exception of my music playing in the background.

"You like Paramore?" Edward asked.

I sat down in the floor next to him. "Depends on the song. _Decode_ is one of my favorites" I answered.

He seemed intrigued by this. "I actually like this song too. It makes me think a lot"

"About what?" I was the curious one now. There was so much I didn't know about Edward and I really wanted to get to know him better. Every little thing that I learned about him made me like him even more.

"About my life. Like, sometimes when I fight with Emmet or Jasper, I just lock myself in my room and listen to that song and it calms me. But more than anything, it helps me wonder why I didn't get closer to you before" he smiled and I felt myself blush.

I knew that he was only using that line to call my attention and that nothing in that statement was true, but it still made me feel good inside. Edward had a way with his words. "You're not the only one to blame here. I hated you too, remember?"

"And now?" he asked. His hand was making soft and gentle caresses up along my arm and it raced goose bumps all along my body. When I made eye contact with him, all of my thoughts seemed to disappear. I could feel the intensity of his gaze and how he tried to read my thoughts. I wanted to answer his question as honestly as possible, but I still didn't have the answer myself. All I knew was that I didn't hate him anymore. And right now, I wanted to kiss him badly.

I didn't want to give him the wrong message though. So, I was in a dilemma here and I tried to find a way out of this. My hormones were pulling me towards him, but my mind tried very hard to stop me. I even started leaning in and getting close enough for him to take my lips and give me one of the best kisses yet.

But then reality kicked in and I heard the tea kettle whistle. I had completely forgotten I was preparing tea for Edward. I got us as fast as I could and left the room. My heart was racing without control and I felt as if the room just got hotter. And it didn't help that I was wearing a sleeveless shirt. It was supposed to be cold right now; after all, we are in the beginning of November and this is Washington. But it was sunny out and the temperature was about 40 degrees out.

Edward was watching my book collection when I came back with the tea. He turned around rapidly when he heard me come in. I tried to avoid eye contact with him just as a precautionary measure. I didn't want to have a repeat of five minutes ago.

"You like classics. It shouldn't surprise me that you like Pride and Prejudice though. I should say that are very much like with Mr. Darcy" he joked. I threw one of the cushions in the couch at him.

"I am not! If anything, I'm similar to Elizabeth" I corrected him. He sat down and laughed at my comment.

Hearing him laugh made me feel something in my heart and I laughed with him. I no longer felt awkward wound him. If anything, I enjoyed his company a lot. I wanted our relationship to be this way forever.

Suddenly I remembered I had typed up our project while we were in our break. I got up and ran to my room to print the document. When I was down, I raced my way downstairs and almost tripped in the stairs. I had grabbed the staircase just in time.

Edward read the analysis silently. He never shifted or changed his seating position like I normally do. When he was finished, he seemed deep in thought.

"Can I make a few changes on it? We are in this together after all. And I don't really agree with some of your viewpoints. I am not saying you're wrong. Just that… some of your points are not realistic" he told me.

I don't know why but I felt very defensive. "What do you mean that they're not realistic?"

"Bella… I'm not saying it's bad. Actually, it's really good. But I don't know whether to agree with your own independency viewpoint. It wasn't that she got that. She was independent from the very begging, but after going through what she lived, she grew up and learned how to be stronger. Besides, the next time she met the guy, she had him in front of her and she wasn't strapped to a chair or blindfolded. Can you imagine how much power that can give a person? To feel in control of yourself is just…amazing.. you know?" he explained.

I was stunned speechless. I felt so much younger than him at the moment, as if I were a kid and he were the adult. I think Edward sensed this because he grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. He sat me in his legs and just held me. It felt really warm and safe in Edward's arms. I didn't want this to end, ever. I liked it here.

"I'm sorry if I offended you sweetie. I don't want you to feel bad, okay?" he whispered in my ear. I leaned closer to him and hugged him tighter. We were like that for a good while, enjoying the moment. He even sang in my ear and whispered sweet things that made me blush. Little by little I realized I was falling in love with him.

To entertain ourselves, Edward chose a movie from my poor DVD collection and we sat cuddled in the couch together and watched the movie.

At some point during the movie, Edward and I locked eyes again, and this time, there was nothing stopping us. We slowly leaned into each other and let our lips do the action. As our kiss deepened and our tongues fought with each other, ravishing in each other's sweet taste, Edward pushed me backwards and had me under him in the couch. My hands were toying with his hair and his were around my waist, going higher and higher. I let out a moan in between kisses and felt as he lifted my shirt and went to cup one of my breasts. I was heaving now. I pulled him closer to me and kissed him fiercely. It was just as in the pool or probably better.

I didn't mind having him play with my body like he was right now. I wanted him to continue. His hands felt so great touching me everywhere. And his lips felt like velvet against my skin. The way he kissed my neck and moaned in my ear made me moan with pleasure. I was getting warmer and wetter in between my legs. As my passion rose, my actions got out of control. My mind was no longer fighting my hormones. All I wanted was to feel him close to me.

I had even forgotten we were watching a movie or that we were at my place and Charlie could get back any minute now. I was too focused on Edward and his body so close to mine. I could sense that Edward was enjoying the action as much as I was. I may be a virgin but I could tell when a guy was getting a hard on. And Edward was as hard as a guy could get. I would have taken his pants off if I hadn't heard the door open.

We both stopped abruptly and Edward fell to the floor. Okay, I pushed him away. But can you blame me? I didn't want Charlie to see me making out with a guy. Poor Edward! Charlie would shoot him if he ever saw him on top of me like he was a few seconds ago.

I arranged myself as fast as I could and Edward sat next to me. To Charlie's eyes, we were just watching a movie. That didn't stop him from nagging me the rest of the evening. For all he knew, I hated Edward and he was the bad guy. Seeing me next to him surprised him.

After Edward left, I started preparing dinner for Charlie. He sat in the table and pretended to read the newspaper. A few seconds later I heard him grunt and clear his voice.

"What dad? I know you want to ask me, so shoot" I told him.

I heard him put his paper down and could feel him watching me. I didn't turn around though. "Bells, why was….um….what was….is there something I should know?" he finally asked.

"Edward was just here helping me with our project and afterwards we started watching a movie. That's all. There is nothing between us. I swear" I lied. I couldn't tell him I wanted to screw Edward. I couldn't tell him I had feelings for the guy either. I didn't want to make anything official just yet. I needed more time to think things through. Besides. Edward and I decided to take things slowly. As a matter of fact, before he left, he kissed me and asked me on a date for Saturday night. The only problem was Charlie. I had no idea how to tell him or what to tell him.

So by the end of the night I still hadn't told him about Edward.

When I went to sleep, I heard a tap in my window and went to see what it was. I figured it was a tree branch hitting the window pane, but it never hurt to look. Turns out I was wrong. It wasn't something hitting the glass, but someone trying to call my attention. I had a temporary fright when I saw who it was. I looked around my room making sure Charlie was downstairs watching some game and then opened the window. He was shivering from the cold outside. So I went and got him a blanket and we both sat in my bed.

"Why are you here? Don't you know it's a bit weird for a guy to tap on a girl's window?" I asked him. I was joking of course. I was glad he was here and I didn't want him to leave.

"Well, I missed you. I didn't want to be so far away from you" he answered. I blushed and looked away. He then grabbed my hand and kissed it making me have chills around my body. "You look cute when you get shy. I like it. I wish I could have you looking like that every single time" he continued. My heart started to race.

"Edward… you don't have to be so romantic" I joked again. "Charlie will probably go to sleep in a few minutes. Do you…. um….do you want to stay?" I asked him. I knew I was taking a big leap here and this was so not taking it slow. But whatever happened to being spontaneous?

Edward seemed to read my mind and smiled. "I'd love that. But we better not make too much noise or Chief Swan will probably notice a disturbance in the force and I wouldn't want to end up in jail for visiting you this late at night" he joked. I hit him with one of my pillows.

I know what you're thinking but nothing happened. And this time I mean it. Edward was a complete gentleman. He helped me get to bed and just laid there next to me. He held me in his arms and sang me a lullaby.

"Edward, when did you know?" I asked him out of the blue. I was curious.

"When did I know what?" he asked back.

"When did you know you felt this way about me? How did you…" I continued.

It was so dark in the room, with the only light coming from the window, that I couldn't tell what Edward's expression was like. "When you had that accident. I was really scared for you Bella. I was worried about you. And when you held me so tight…you seemed so vulnerable and I just knew. I knew I wanted to protect you from whatever thing or person could possibly hurt you. I don't want to feel that way ever again. I don't want to think that I could lose you. If I do, who will I fight with about Stephen King or any other author I'm currently interested in?" he answered jokingly.

I got closer to him and held him tighter. I liked being like this, held by someone who I knew cared so much about me. "I'm sorry I scared you. I just…. lost it… I guess. I think I needed you. That's why the accident happened. Because I needed you next to me" I told him. He kissed my head and continued to sing my lullaby until I finally fell asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

Sorry for the long wait. I've just been really busy with school, but now I'm on my Spring Break and I can write these few chappies for you.

I only ask for you to be patient with me. This story is getting longer than I initially expected and things are getting a bit complicated, still, please don't stop reading and leaving your reviews.

Bye!!

* * *

BPOV

When I woke up, I felt a body next to mine and I instantly panicked. I was still a little fuzzy. It took me a moment to remember that I asked Edward to stay with me last night. When I turned around I noticed he was deep in thought and silent. I didn't want to disturb him. So I started to get up and leave but he stopped me by grabbing hold of my hand, pulling me towards him and hugging me tightly. It felt right to be in his arms and to see him smile warmly.

"Good morning love" he said and kissed my forehead. He wasn't letting me go, which made me laugh.

"Good morning to you too. How are you feeling this morning?" I asked him.

He thought for a moment and then answered. "As if I've been reborn. I've never quite felt so content. But having you by my side makes me feel elated. Have I ever told you I love you?" he smiled.

"Not enough" I joked and kissed him in the lips. It was going to be just a peck, it really was. I didn't want Charlie to know Edward was here, so I was avoiding any unnecessary noises. But feeling Edward's lips touch with mine, I couldn't stop myself. Somehow, he ended up on top of me kissing me with enough fire that it could possibly burn the whole place. He explored my mouth thoroughly and slowly. Apparently, there's something alluring about having a girl in bed and horny, like I was right now, because I could feel Edward's passion reeling itself out. It wasn't only his kiss, but also his breaths, the way his hands moved around my body, and the way he shifted his body closer to mine.

He wasn't the only one who was getting hotter by the minute though. I couldn't avoid moaning sometimes or kissing him more passionately. It might be morning, but time was not a factor at this very moment. I didn't feel the least bit tired or zoned out. If anything, I felt very alert at the moment.

"Bells! You've got company!" I heard Charlie shout from the stairs. Edward and I instantly let go of each other and got up. I went to look out the window and see who it was. It didn't take me long to recognize Jacob's car. I could hear Edward curse behind me.

"Don't start right now Edward. I'll just talk to him. We have to let this go. Jake's a friend" I explained. When I saw Edward's expression I grew frightened for a moment. He looked angry, really angry. I've never seen him like this before. I took Edward's face in my hands so that he was obligated to look at me in the eye. "Edward, I don't want you to start a fight, okay? I need you to trust me"

He laughed. "Bella, I trust you completely. I know you wouldn't do anything stupid. It's him who I don't trust" he answered.

After arguing for a while, Edward finally conceded to let me talk to Jacob. He left with a promise of coming back that night. I knew I was asking a lot of him right now. Jacob had done something unforgivable and to Edward, that created a wall between them that not even I could bring down.

I wasn't even going to try.

When I came downstairs, Charlie had clearly left Jacob alone, waiting for me. I rolled my eyes at the situation. Typical. Wasn't he supposed to hate Jake for the car crash? Or for getting me wasted?

Jake was sitting in the living room when I came. Immediately I could sense the rift between us. He was so distant and it took me by surprise. Maybe it was my fault as much as his, who knew? Jake had been a good friend of mine for so long, it just seemed ridiculous to have a grudge against him. But there it was; the uncomfortable feeling of being in the same room as him. I didn't know what to say or what to think. As I looked in Jake's eyes, I tried to be a forgiving person, but all the memories came flooding back to me and it hurt me.

He seemed to feel just as uncomfortable. Minutes passed before any of us talked. I don't know why he came in the first place. There was nothing left to say. Most of it was already out in the open. He loved me, just for how long, I didn't care. Maybe if that party had never happened, if I had not gotten drunk that night, then maybe I could give him an honest heartfelt answer. But right now, having him right in front of me, it just made me want to hurt him. It didn't matter that he was a friend, all that I though and felt at the moment was pain.

I crossed my arms, hugging myself, trying to shy away from him. Suddenly, I could feel the cold from outside and started to shiver.

"Bella" he finally said. I turned to look at him. He looked like a hurt puppy just about to start crying. "I'm sorry. For everything. For whatever I did to you…I know that I was a bad friend to you…" he was saying but I stopped him by lifting my hand.

"Don't! You think you were a bad friend?! It's much more than that Jake! I trusted you! You broke that trust! Do you have any idea how I feel? I am scared of being with you! I am scared that you'll do something and hurt me again" I admitted. I know I was shouting but Jacob was getting me pissed.

"Bella, I just wanted you to lighten up. I…. I was an idiot, okay? And I'm sorry… can't we be friends again? I hate not having you in my life!" he got closer and I backed away. When he noticed I was pulling myself away from him, he seemed to give up. "What I told you that other day, I meant it Bella. I really do love you. And I would never do anything to hurt you. It would kill me to see you hurt. Please believe that" he confessed. He waited, and seeing that I wasn't going to answer any time soon, he left.

I fell to the floor and started crying. Why did it have to turn out this way? Now I had two guys who were in love with me. What was I going to do?

EPOV

As promised, I tapped on Bella's window that night. I spent the whole day in my room finishing my novel and printing it out for Bella to read. Of course, I ate with my family too. They seemed surprised at my sudden change of mood but said nothing about it.

When she opened her window to let me in, I noticed her puffy eyes; she was crying for some reason and the first person who came to mind was Jacob. I was going to stop by the Reservation early the next morning to pay a visit. Someone was in clear need of a nose job.

I didn't want to intrude on Bella's problems, so I didn't ask what happened. I could pretty much make out what happened this morning by her behavior. When she sat in her bed, she was holding her knees close to her, as if shielding herself from me. I sat next to her and pulled her close to me.

I didn't know what to say at a time like this. It felt like someone died, and probably tomorrow that would become a reality, but right now, Bella felt cold to my touch and completely distant. I tried to soothe her feelings by humming in her ear. This seemed to do the trick, since she stopped crying and actually hugged me back now.

"Feeling better princess?" I mocked her. She looked at me laughing and kissed me in the cheek.

"Thank you. I need that." she said. Then she noticed the papers next to me. "What…."she started to ask but I gave them to her before she could finish her sentence.

"It's something I've been putting together. It's a novel actually, and I want you to be the first person to read it, if you don't mind" I explained.

She looked at me surprised, then smiled and kissed me, this time on the lips, again. "I'd love to read it. Thank you" she replied.

While she read the papers I looked around her room. She had only a couple of pictures with her family framed. There was one where she was around 5 and she has smiling along with Charlie and Renee; this must have been while they were still married. Then there was another where Bella was a bit older and she was horse back riding with Billie Black and Charlie. The third one was with Renee and another man I guessed was her new husband, Phil. For the most part Bella's room was quite impersonal. She didn't have any posters in her walls or any decorations for that matter. This could be a visitor's room for all that mattered. Nothing really made her very own room; only the three pictures showed that she slept here.

When I turned around to look at Bella, I noticed she was looking at me with curiosity in her eyes. I laughed nervously. "Something wrong? You didn't like the story?" I asked her.

"No, it's not that. I'm just….um….well….surprised actually. I never thought you would be one to write this kind of stuff. I can very well picture you keeping the whole mystery angle of the story, but the romance…wow! Was it out of experience?" she asked me. And to top her cuteness, she was blushing.

It took me a second to understand what she meant by that last question. I didn't write anything in that story out of experience. Damn! The main character was a detective and his partner was an ex-con famous for sleeping with the opposite sex and ripping them from their money. I haven't really met people like that in my life. They were completely fictional and I got them from watching too much NCIS. But then I remembered she was mentioned the romance angle between the two characters. That wasn't out of experience either because I've never really been in love; until now. I looked at Bella confused but when she blushed further I got what she meant. And I blushed too.

"Bella. Didn't I tell you? I haven't done that yet. I just pictured what it would be like to do it and I just write it. Are you saying it seemed accurate? Or have you already done it and it's just like in the story?" I asked her back. She threw one of her pillows at me and I couldn't help but start laughing. It was too easy to make her feel uncomfortable.

"No, I haven't! I'm still….um…" she tried saying but couldn't make out the right word.

"A virgin?" she nodded. "It's okay. So am I. Tanya tried to get me to do it with her more than once, but I just bring myself to do it with her. Guess I'm a romantic after all. I wanted to do it with someone I loved after all. Looking at Carlisle and Esme together just makes me wish I had the same relationship they have with each other. I want a lifetime partner who will accept me as I come. Until now I hadn't found that person" I told her.

She looked away and held her legs close together again as if shielding herself from me. "I think…its best that you leave. Charlie will be coming back home soon enough…" she was saying.

I felt a twist in my stomach and a stab in my chest. "Bella…" I tried reasoning with her but she still looked away. I really didn't want to start an argument with her and she seemed to want some time to herself. So I left.

Part of me wanted to hold her and be there for her, but I knew she wouldn't accept my kindness this time. I knew that about her. She had an unique way of handling personal issues. Her number one thing was that she didn't share her burden with others. Alice always complained about that. When Bella's mom divorced Charlie, Bella didn't cry or anything. She just accepted it. Her family was crumbling apart and she just smiled at the situation. We all knew that behind closed doors she was a mess, but for everyone else's eyes, she was perfectly fine.

If I asked her now what the problem was, she would lie and say that it was nothing. So I avoided the unnecessary question and left her alone.

When I got back home I was not in a good mood. I wasn't pissed at Bella at all. Just at the situation and mostly Jacob Black for hurting her that way. He probably told her something this morning that made her feel uneasy and now she felt weird around me too.

So imagine how I reacted when Alice called out my name in her pixie like voice. I didn't shout or anything. I don't do that often. It's not in my personality to loose control like that. I simply treat people coldly. "What Alice?" I asked her irritated.

"Dad wants to see you" she answered me in a soft tone. This wasn't like her. Normally she would complain about my tone and tell me to fuck off. But she was quiet now. This meant that something bad happened.

I swallowed hard and went to the living room. Esme and Carlisle were talking to a woman sitting in one of the armchairs. When they all heard me enter the room, the woman got up to face me. Then it all went down to hell.

"Patricia" I called out her name.

"Hello Edward. Long time no see honey" she answered in her sweet voice.

Fuck.


	18. Chapter 18

EPOV

I felt as if the world just turned upside down. This couldn't be happening; not now. I was happy for the very first time in my life. I finally found someone to love and who possibly felt the same way about me, and now this had to happen. Well, forgive me, but I lost it. I couldn't take it.

Of course, I didn't show this side of me to Patricia. I was a gentleman with her, as my parents expected me to be. But as soon as she was gone I exploded with Carlisle. I may have said a few things that hurt him deeply, but at the time, I wasn't thinking right. I was just pissed at everything.

Okay, let me rewind and tell you what the fuck is going on.

This all started way before I was even born. Carlisle had this friend called Bill, who actually was one of his patients. Let me tell you, Bill is loaded, way, way more than we are. He owns a software company, and no, he's not Bill Gates. But he felt that the name was similar, so he went into that profession, but that's just another story I don't want to delve in. Anyways, Bill and Carlisle became good friends and somehow the two idiots came up with the brilliant idea of engaging their children. Yes, they arranged our marriage. Can you believe it? As soon as Carlisle told me about this, I naturally opposed the idea, I mean, I didn't want to marry a total stranger and much less marry out of love, I would believe that Carlisle and Esme would understand this more than anyone else. I mean, they are the most romantic couple I've ever come across. Of course, Carlisle wanted to break off the engagement soon after, but there was nothing to be done. Bill didn't want to break it off. Guess why.

Yup, you guessed right. Patricia wanted to get married to a jackass like me. And her father wanted to please her. Fucking spoiled brat. You might be wondering why Carlisle didn't end it anyways. Well, imagine this. Bill is super rich, right? That means he donates a lot of money to Carlisle's causes and that shit, and he has the upper hand being a patient of his. He can bring Carlisle down if he wanted to. Just let out a rumor about Carlisle's practice and he can say goodbye to his insurance and his job. I think this would all mean that we are screwed, which we are. Or I am for that matter.

We were all expecting for Patricia to grow up and just find herself another boy toy whom she would want to marry, but apparently our hopes went down the drain. Now she was back in my life and she wanted to continue with the wedding arrangements. That is just great; fucking great. First of all, I am not ready to marry someone; not at my age. I wanted to go to Dartmouth and graduate and get a job. But if I married Patricia, all those dreams would disappear instantly. Of course, I might be able to go to college and graduate, but I wouldn't be studying what I wanted, which was medicine. If I married Patricia I would have to study business, which I hated. And surely, I wouldn't be happy working in Bill's company. That would be hell on earth for me. Kissing ass and winning points just to close a business deal was not my cup of tea.

Okay, this might not be what really pissed me off. Mostly it was the fact that it meant I would have to leave Bella and hurt her. I already told her I loved her. I gave her my heart and my soul. How would it look if I told her one afternoon that I had been engaged this whole time with another girl? She would hate me forever. I wouldn't only lose my relationship with her, but also her trust and most importantly, her friendship. I didn't want that. If I were to get married with some girl, it would have to be Bella. There was no one else.

When Patricia was gone, Carlisle sensed my anger and asked to go with him to his study where no one could hear us. He didn't want to worry Esme, and I didn't either. She was not at fault for this. If anything, she was against the idea from the very beginning.

I let it all out as soon as Carlisle closed the door. "I can't believe her. I really can't. How dare she come here and tell me how to run my life? I am not marrying her, there is no way I am wasting the rest of my life with that witch. I mean, she was out of my life for eight years! And suddenly she comes and tells me she still wants to get married? Who does she think she is? Why couldn't she find herself another guy? How hard can that be?"

Carlisle just sat in his chair waiting for me to be finished. When I was all out of complaints and insults, he responded. "Edward, if you're going to be angry at someone, take it out on me. It's my fault anyways. I got you in this mess in the first place. I really didn't meant to. At the moment I hoped that Patricia would be your Esme. But turns out I was wrong, and I am so very sorry. I will talk to Bill and cancel this arrangement. Okay?" he told me in his soothing voice.

I hated this. I hated the way he looked at me right now and the way he spoke to me. It made me feel guilty for what I felt, which was just wrong. I had the right to be angry at the situation, but then again, I knew Carlisle meant well. He always did. I sighed and sat down in one of the armchairs in front of his desk. "You don't have to do that Carlisle. I know how much your practice means to you, believe me, I wish I had the same job you do. You help so many and that is just so incredibly amazing, I can't even put it into words. I can't let you lose something you worked so hard to achieve. And I know that Bill can and will bring you down if something goes wrong with this marriage. That's why I'll go through with it. Even if it means living in misery for the rest of my life, I would much rather prefer that than to see you lose something so precious to you. Carlisle, you're the greatest father a son could ever hope to have. Now I want to be the greatest son, if you'll let me" I answered him. I knew what my words meant and what the sacrifices would be, but I was ready for them. Sooner or later, I had to grow up and be a man. I just wished growing up didn't have to be this painful.

"Edward, you already are a great son. You have made me proud in so many ways. I have words for them. I don't need you sacrificing your happiness for mine. And I can't ask you to do what you're about to do. That would be completely selfish of me. I won't allow it! This is my mess and I have to be the one to clean it up. Got that? You're not marrying Patricia. If you're ever going to marry someone I want it to be someone you love son"

He was about to dial Bill's number but I hung up for him. "Dad, I want to do this. Please" I pleaded with him.

"But Edward…. you really don't want to spend the rest of your life regretting this one decision, do you?" he asked me.

"Dad, I'm not letting you do this" I told him firmly and left the room. I knew Carlisle wouldn't call Bill. Not now that he saw the determination in me. And don't ask me what compelled me to be this bent on this marriage. I didn't have any feelings for Patricia, and I knew I would be an idiot for accepting her as a bride. But my head kept on telling me to do this.

The biggest problem still remains; Bella. How am I going to break the news to her?

BPOV

I know I was being unfair with Edward. I shouldn't have pushed him away like that. I just got nervous when he talked about me that way. It made me feel guilty because I couldn't come up with the confidence to tell him that I loved him. I know it must have taken him a lot to tell me how he felt, but I just wasn't brave enough. And after listening to Jacob this afternoon, something in me flinched at the words even more.

After watching my parents get a divorce, I guess I sort of lost hope in finding someone to love. Of course I still believe in true love; I know it exists out there somewhere. I just didn't know where. And I think I'm never going to find it.

It's not that I don't love Edward, because a great part of me does. I can picture the big happy family with him, and I can imagine myself in the white dress, walking down the aisle to say I do. But another part of me is just frightened at the prospect and scared at the idea of falling in love and getting hurt in the process. Edward had dated countless of girls before me, what made me so special and different from the rest? Why did he love me and not them?

As I looked myself in the mirror after taking a hot shower, I pondered over there questions. I was pale and simple. I couldn't find anything in my looks that made me more beautiful than any of the other girls Edward dated. I didn't even have that much boobs. I know it's all superficial and that maybe Edward doesn't care about the way I look, but if it's not that, then what does he care about?

It can't be my personality. I am cynical, judgmental, stubborn, and too conceited. What can he possibly like about me? I wanted to break the glass with my frustration. Now more than any other time, I felt like breaking down and crying my heart out. I didn't want this. I didn't want to be in the position I am now. I don't know how it happened, but now my best friend and the one person I hated the most in this world were important in my life. I couldn't live without any of them.

I hated my weakness. If it weren't for that I wouldn't have to loose Jacob or Edward. However, I knew I had to make a choice. If I chose Edward then I would lose Jacob. If I chose Jacob, Edward would never find it in his heart to forgive me. Either way, I was going to lose one to gain the other.

After my shower I just threw myself on my bed and let my thoughts wonder around. I really wanted to give Edward and Jacob a clear and concise answer with no regrets, which wasn't turning out to be easy.

Did I even love Jacob? I mean, sure, he's been there for me since square one. We've been close since I hit puberty, and we've been inseparable since I started high school. But what are my real feelings for him? Could I trust him again after that party at La Push? I need to know the answer to this question before I can understand my true feelings. I know I seemed distant this morning, but in truth, all I wanted was to hold Jacob in my arms and let it all fade away like a distant memory. However, at the very moment, the ghost of that past kept on haunting me over and over, and I just couldn't stop myself from getting scared.

Seems like I've been scared of a lot of things lately. I'm scared of loving Edward and getting hurt by that. I'm scared of loving and trusting Jacob and being betrayed again. But I can't continue on like this, can I? I have to face my fears and become a stronger person. And the first thing that I'm going to do, is talk to Jacob and straighten things out.

The next day I went to Jacob's place and asked him to take a stroll with me, for old time sake. I was still shivering at the thought of being so close to him, but I shook it away

"Jake…I'm…I'm sorry I've been a bad friend to you lately. I didn't mean to say what I said yesterday… I was just…" I tried explaining to him.

"Scared?" he finished for me. I nodded. I couldn't lie to him; not about this. "I don't blame you. I would pretty scared of myself if I were you. I don't even know what I was thinking. If I could take it all back; I would. I swear Bells, I would be the person to protect you; not hurt you. I love too much to see you get hurt" he confessed.

I swallowed hard and kept walking. I looked down at the sand, searching for an answer there, but I couldn't find one. It was all white and blank. "Jake…I…I wish I could tell you that I love you too. You have been my best friend since… well…since I can even remember something. You were always the one to protect me. I don't doubt that. It's just…I…I may have feelings for someone else" I told him. I could sense him stopping and looking at me with his piercing eyes. He wasn't mad, it was more like, he was hurt.

"It's Cullen, isn't it?" he asked. When I didn't answer he got closer to me and caught my chin with his hand. :"Bells…its okay…all I want is for you to be happy. I wish it were with me of course, but if you want to be with that frat boy then it's fine by me. I'm warning you though. He will burn you mush more than I ever did" he replied.

I swear I wanted to slap him for his comment. I just couldn't. I was too surprised by his comment to do anything. I was stunned speechless actually. I didn't know what to say or how to react to that.

I remembered the first time a guy bullied me. It was in the reservation. I must have been 11 years old or so. Charlie had left me there because he had to work late that night and he couldn't leave me alone at home. I remember I was minding my own business, walking in the beach, when two guys came up tome and started making fun of me. Apparently I was an outsider for them. The only girl they accepted in their group was Leah and that was because she was practically a tomboy at that age. I dressed more feminine than her at least. And that seemed to call the guy's attention.

They started getting closer to me and looked at me weird, as if I were some new toy for them. I was scared and I couldn't think of a way to defend myself. Then one of the guys started spanking me while the other just taunted me asking me if I liked it or not. I wanted them to just stop and leave me alone. I was close to crying from fear. That was when Jacob showed up and started fighting with them. I remember his look. He was frightening. The anger in his eyes could make any other kid scared shitless. I was scared of him too. I wanted to run away from him. But he stopped me midway and when I saw his eyes again, he was different. I fell to the ground shivering and just started crying.

Jacob just stood there, waiting for me to be over, without saying a single word. He was just there, and when I was done, he took me in his arms and walked me to his place, where he let me sleep in the couch until Charlie came to pick me up. It wasn't so much the fact that he saved me, as the silence and the comfort I found when I was near him, that made me attached to him. There was never any awkwardness with Jake. And I could always trust the fact that he would be there for me.

Looking at him now and looking back at the Jacob I had in front of me right now, I can't really tell a difference. He had the same eyes full of caring and worry. He was still the same Jacob I always loved. Great, now I'm love with both guys. This is a disaster. I felt a tear start to fall from my eye and sniffled. "Great… that is just great" I laughed at my reaction.

"Bells.. if I said something wrong…" Jake started to say but I stopped him by holding my hand up.

"Its nothing like that. It's just that I finally realized... I can't believe it…not now" I started laughing nervously. I know I must look like a wacko who just about lost it, but truthfully I didn't care. I felt like I just had one of those revelations that are better off kept as secrets. I wanted to hit my head with something or just wake up from this nightmare. There was no one I could be crazy for two guys at the same time! Now how was I going to choose?

Jake must have felt my unease because he crept closer to me and finally held me in his arms. I couldn't help but hug him back and keep on crying. Just the prospect of losing either Jake or Edward frightened me. One was my past while the other was my present, but who could be my future?

When I was calmer, Jake let me go and took my head in his hands to look at me. His brown eyes were filled with worry and for a moment I got lost in that just one moment. For a second I forgot where I was and everything else that was putting me on edge. It was only me and Jake, and nothing else mattered.

"Bells… I know what you feel for Cullen. But I also know that in some part of you, there are feelings for me. While that possibility still exists, I will keep on fighting for you. I won't lose you Bells. I love you too much" he told me and kissed me fiercely.

In a perfect world, I would have stopped him and pushed him away. But this is far from being a perfect world, and my heart partly belonged to Jake. It always had. I was just afraid of accepting it. From that very moment he protected me, I fell for him and loved him ever since.

So, I couldn't stop him. I just let his tongue enter my mouth and ravish it. The very moment his lips met mine, everything was forgotten. I could feel my heart torn in two, and accept Jake's feelings. My body seemed to react the same way my heart did. My arms went around Jake's neck and I kissed him back. I know I shouldn't have done this. Not after everything Edward had done for me, not after he told me his feelings, and not after he has been there for me this past night. But my heart swayed. I couldn't help it, I loved Jake just as much as I loved Edward.

A tear fell from my eyes again.


	19. Chapter 19

BPOV

I could sense Edward was avoiding me that next day of class. As soon as the bell rang when English class was over, he dashed out of the room in a hurry. And he never spoke to me in Biology. He was completely quiet. When I caught him looking at me he looked away. It was as if he was keeping a secret from me. And it made me feel even worse than I was already feeling. We were so happy just a week ago, and now there was this huge wall keeping us apart. I wanted to tear it down but it was too hard.

Even if Edward did want to speak to me, could I really act all nonchalantly with him? I would feel as if I were lying to him. I am really the worst scum of the universe. I can't even decide between two boys. I didn't deserve Edward's feelings.

You can well figure out how my day went. It was hell on earth. All I wanted was to be happy, how did things get so complicated?

After class I tried getting Edward to talk to me, but he didn't look my way. He just kept on walking, right past me, without any eye contact, and left school with Alice. His cold shoulder sent a shiver up my spine and I wanted to just fall apart and cry. I never thought it would be this painful to have him ignore me like that. And I didn't even know why he was acting this way.

I know I am being selfish by wanting him now, but that's just how my heart feels. Last night I couldn't stop thinking about him and his warmth. But he never showed up. I thought about calling him, but when I did, Carlisle answered telling me to just give him some time. Edward didn't want to talk to me.

I felt someone kneel next to me and hug me tightly. Recognizing those arms I cried in them. I didn't know why I felt so horrible; but I did. I didn't want Edward to hate me and I could feel him pushing me away. He was back to the same cold Edward I knew once before and it killed me. And what was worse, was that I didn't even know what happened and what made him act this way.

Rosalie took me to her place and let me rest in her room. I kept on crying for a while and even though I could feel her pillow getting wet with my tears, I didn't stop. I felt as if my world was crumbling and I couldn't do anything to stop it. Maybe Jake was right and Edward was going to hurt me, but it was too late now. I had already fallen for Edward and consciously or not, he was already hurting me.

After a few minutes I heard Rose come back to her room with a tray with tea and cookies. I sniffled and got up. Rose sat next to me in bed while I drank the tea.

"Does this by any chance have anything to do with Edward?" she asked me.

I almost chocked on my tea when I heard the question. She took me completely by surprise. I kind of imagined her and Alice figuring out my relationship with Edward but not to this degree.

I put the cup down and looked away. "I love him Rose, but I can't have him" I confessed. That was the purest of all truths. While I still had feelings for Jake, I couldn't let myself have feelings for Edward. I couldn't have them both.

"Why do you say that? I'm sure that he feels the same way about you" she told me.

Tears started falling from my eyes again and I wanted to just scream with all my might. It was all so incredibly frustrating. Rose made it all look so simple. But feelings are never simple, are they?

"It doesn't matter whether he feels the same way or not. I can't love him back, I shouldn't… not after…not after I kissed Jake….I can't…because…as much as I love Edward… I also love Jake…Oh! Rose… what am I going to do?" I started crying in Rose's shoulder.

"Sounds to me like you need some time to figure out your feelings Bella. You are confused right now, and I can't really blame you. If I were in your shoes I would probably feel the same way. That's why you need some time apart from both of them. Take a trip somewhere, be by yourself and you'll figure it out"

I looked into Rose's eyes and felt better. I need a friend to talk to, and Rose was very understanding; a bit too understanding. It made me suspicious. "Rose… I though you and Alice didn't want me to be with Edward" I told her.

"It wasn't that Bella. You got it all wrong. We were just protecting you. Neither Alice nor I wanted to see you get hurt and we know that Edward has history with you, and we wanted to avoid that. I'm sorry it came out the wrong way but we never meant any harm, honest. If you're happy with him, then we are happy too" she answered.

I felt kind of stupid. This whole time I though Alice and Rose were trying to find ways to keep me away from Edward, now I find out they were actually protecting me from him. It made me laugh a little.

After hanging out with Rose for a while, she drove me back home. I promised her I would go on a trip to Seattle this weekend and think things through.

The house felt very lonely without Charlie and his game on. At a moment like this, I really craved the company. I felt like I was losing everyone. Or maybe I was just losing myself. Who knew?

I micro waved last night's left over and sat watching a romantic comedy. I would have much preferred to watch something like Saw or the Grudge, but there was nothing like that on. So I had to settle for this movie instead. Which just made me feel worse about my life, The girl actually got the guy she wanted there and she seemed happy. Me? I couldn't be any more miserable.

When Charlie got home, he saw me wallowing in my own self pity and sent me to my room. He was never good at handling this kind of situation, so he opted for the easy way out. He simply told to go to my room. It was always like that. So I didn't argue and left.

I was expecting to see Edward laying in bed waiting for me, but there was no one there. I checked the window to make sure I left it open, and indeed it was open. He just wasn't going to show up. My dream had come to a dramatic end.

That night I had nightmares where Jake left me forever or Edward just turned his back on me, never looking back. In both of those dreams I started crying and I woke up felling my heart beat slowly and hard. The tears were also real.

You could say I didn't sleep at all. Even my dreams frightened me.

The rest of the week passed in a blur. I didn't see Edward at all; he didn't show up for English or Biology, which worried me. He rarely missed class unless something was terribly wrong. I tried asking Alice, but she just dodged my question every time. Apparently Rose told her about our little conversation the other day and Alice was afraid of hurting me with the truth. Well, I was getting sick and tired of the protection. I was not a child anymore.

On Friday, after class I cornered Alice, by grabbing her car keys just as she was about to leave. "Alice, I want you to tell me what's going on with Edward" I told her. By this point I was getting kind of tired of the whole charade. If he wanted to end our relationship then that was fine by me. I just hated being ignored like that.

"Bella, I wish I could tell you, but I'm not the one who should. You have to talk to him personally. All I can tell you right now is that I love you and I'll always be there for you. I'm sorry. But this is really not my place to tell you. Now give me my car keys back, please" she pleaded with me. I would have pushed further on the issue but she seemed genuinely upset which scared me even more. Alice's behavior just made my fear even stronger than before.

Edward wanted to break up with me, which meant that this whole time he was just using me. I was an idiot. I really was.

Saturday, I packed my stuff and left for Seattle. I decided to spend the night there and come back on Sunday night.

I drove aimlessly for a couple of hours, just watching the road signs pass me by. I couldn't get Edward out of my head. I wanted to know what was wrong with him, but neither Carlisle nor Esme, nor Alice would let me talk to him. And every time I asked if I could stop by and see him, they told me he didn't want to see me. I chastised myself for loving a guy like him. I was really an idiot.

I finally stopped at a local library and got in. It was so quiet and peaceful; it made me a bit wary of myself. I'm not saying it was empty; it's just that people were so quiet. It reminded me of the school library where the attendant always shushed you. I made sure I didn't trip over anything or make any unnecessary noise as I walked by. I don't know what brought me here, or why I was here in the first place, I just knew I needed to find something.

I know this may sound geeky and weird, but I have a certain fascination with books. They jus attract me like bees to honey. I always want to read a new book, no matter what genre it is. Something about opening a new book and getting absorbed in the storyline the author wrote fascinated me. As I walked down the rows of books, I read every title and kind of memorized the author's name. I was in the classic sections, where books were so old, they were mostly paperback and sold at $5.00 each.

I caught sight of a little kid sitting in the floor reading "_The Little Prince_" against one of the bookshelves. He seemed really immersed in the book, it made me smile. Something about the way he concentrated deeply on it reminded me of Edward. It made my heart ache with how much I missed him. Maybe it wasn't such a smart idea to come after all. But then again, I did come looking for something. I went back and searched for "_The Little Prince_". Where had that kid found it?

I was about to give up my search when I finally found the author and the book. It was like gold in my hands. I always like classics like this one. The story is about a boy who didn't have anything at all and suddenly a rich uncle offers him a good fortune. I remember my mom buying this book for me when I was just a kid learning how to read. I didn't like the story at first because I sort of wanted to read fairy tales, but as I grew up, I started to take the lessons this book taught me to heart. Now I wanted to give this to Edward. Something in my heart made me want to give him this part of my life. A part that one else cared to discover.

So I bought the book and left. I didn't have any place in mind so I just started driving. I decided to let destiny play its course and just go with the flow. There wasn't much traffic so I was able to just take the scene in.

The place reminded me of Phoenix. There were couples and families holding hands everywhere. People were walking with shopping bags or with nothing at all. They were so different from me. I was never the one to go to the mall or hang out with friends. I always preferred to be alone than anything else. Alice was the one who always took me out. I guess I never really saw a good reason to go out. I never had anyone special to be with.

I parked at the entrance of the mall and decided to just walk around. I could probably find a small gift for Charlie. God knows I needed something to distract my mind with. I feel like all I've been thing about has been either Jake or Edward. If I was going to fulfill my mission here and do as Rose instructed me, then I had better start now.

I was walking towards Old Navy to look at some clothes when I bumped into this girl. She was so beautiful; it was hard to put it into words. She had curly auburn hair and green sparkling eyes. And her outfit was very appealing. It was no surprise that most guys were catching a glimpse of her. She was wearing a white a blouse with a black mini skirt and black boots. I wished I could be confident enough to dress like that.

"I'm sorry.." I apologized. The girl didn't seem to listen to me because she was looking for someone. The she noticed me in front of her.

"Oh! No worries. It was partly my fault too. I wasn't looking ahead of me. I'm sorry. Um…I have to go now…" and with that she left.

I turned to look back and instantly wished I hadn't. Apparently the person she was looking for was the same one I was meaning to see.

When he caught sight of me, his face went completely blank and frozen. It was pretty obvious that he was as shell shocked as I was at the moment. The girl however, was completely oblivious to this. She went to his side and grabbed hold of his arm as if he were hers. It made me nauseated to see this. It made me sick to my stomach to see him with someone else.

When I saw her kiss him in the lips, it was more than enough for me. I stormed out of the place and drove off. I was sure Edward didn't even try to go after me. He wouldn't want his date to know the truth. I should have known better than to fall for a player like him. It was obvious that this was all a game to him. And he won of course.

I just couldn't believe what a loser I was.


	20. Chapter 20

EPOV

My life just got worse and worse by the minute. I wanted to run after Bella, I honestly did, and I would have, if it weren't for Patricia. She held my arm tightly as if warning me not to do something stupid. I recalled my vow to her and I stayed against my own will. I know I am hurting Bella in unimaginable ways, but I really had no choice. Or maybe I did, and I made the wrong one. It didn't matter anyways. What was done was done. It was over between us. She probably hated me now and I couldn't blame her.

The past week I was more than a jerk to her. I was too afraid of confronting her and see her tears. Last time I did, it just about killed me inside. If I let myself be weakened like that, Patricia would probably know what is going on and call of the engagement. I couldn't let her do that. Not if it meant jeopardizing Carlisle's career, So I told Alice and Carlisle to answer the phone from then on and say that I didn't want to talk to Bella. It was the most coward thing I ever did in my life and I hated myself for it. I knew better than to act like this. Ignoring a person is one of the worst things you can do. My parents taught me that. And here I was, completely avoiding Bella with no explanations.

Sometimes, Alice would come to my room and plead with me to tell Bella everything, but each and every time I just asked her to leave my room. I didn't want to be preached, not after everything that I was doing. Carlisle and Esme were the most understanding ones. They just left me to my solitude and avoided the subject at all costs.

Today, Patricia wanted to register some wedding gifts at the mall. She had me driving her almost everywhere in Seattle this past week. That's why I wasn't going to school anymore. I was done with most of my classes anyways, so my parents had to only sign a letter saying that I would be absent for about two weeks.

As I looked at some china vases, I couldn't help but wish I were with Bella instead of Patricia. I wanted to throw the vase against the store wall and just loose it. I wanted to run away from here and just go to Bella. My heart wanted to be anywhere but here. My mind however, stayed firm on its decision. Little by little I was losing part of myself. I already lost that portion of my heart that I gave Bella. My love for her would forever remain there but the Edward that she knew and loved would die.

I looked out at the mall and saw all the teenager couples holding hands like they were the happiest beings on earth. Why couldn't it be as simple as that with me? Why couldn't I have that happiness?

Patricia suddenly came to my side and took my arm. This was so normal of her that it didn't surprise me anymore. "Something wrong Eddie?" she asked me. I wanted to scream at her for calling me like that.

I cleared my throat and smiled at her. "No. Everything is fine sweet heart. Did you get everything?" I asked her back. It was easy for me to just pretend. I've done it before with plenty of girls. Patricia was no different from the rest. All I had to do was please her. I was her servant now.

After registering our gifts, she decided to go to eat lunch at Olive Garden. As usual, it was completely packed. We had to wait for a while until the attendant found us our table. When she did, I came across none other than Emmet and Rosalie. Apparently they were back together again, as was to be expected. I smiled cordially at both of them and introduced both of them to Patricia. She was more than happy to meet two of my friends. Apparently she wanted to know more about my life and get closer to me, while I only craved the distance.

Rosalie seemed to disapprove of Patricia the minute I introduced her. However, she said nothing about it and smiled back. I would thank her later for that. I need to keep pretenses if I wanted this to work. Emmet was more bothered by the idea of me getting married than anything else. He didn't care who it was with.

Before leaving, Rosalie whispered in my ear. "We have to talk" and she left.

I acted as if I hadn't heard her right and continued with lunch.

It was as if my past were coming back. I was the same Edward I was before; the playboy who knew how to make a girl happy. I was a complete gentle man with Patricia and listened to her when she spoke and answered when called for. I didn't care about her, but I did what I had to do. Lunch was hell for me. I wished I could just leave there at the restaurant, blabbing about nonsense. I didn't care about who her friends were, or who her family was. I didn't want to listen to her anecdotes or her memories. I didn't want to get close to her. She wasn't the one I wanted.

While I ate part of my pasta, Patricia looked at me worried. "Edward, why are you so cold to me?" she asked.

I swallowed my food and just about chocked on it. I wasn't expecting her to notice that. Before I spoke I drank a bit of my water. "What do you mean? I'm not being cold" I lied. I hoped that she would be stupid enough to believe that lie. She wasn't.

"I can tell you don't want this marriage to happen. If you don't want to be with me it's okay. I can explain it to daddy. You don't have to make any sacrifices on my part. Whether you believe it or not, I always wanted you Edward. Being with someone as sophisticated as you was my dream. If you're not happy…" she was about to cry but I passed a finger through her eye stopping that one tear.

"Whoever said I was making a sacrifice here? I want to be with you, that's why I'm here. Remember the vow I made you. I will marry you and make you happy" I told her. This was partly true. I would make her happy even if it meant sacrificing my own happiness in the process.

She seemed to take comfort in my words and smiled. Mission accomplished.

After eating lunch, I took her back to her place and went back home. I recognized the red corvette parked in front and sighed. I expected to find Bella's truck and see her infuriated but I guess I was asking for too much.

As soon as I got out of the car, Rosalie came to my side and slapped me. Not the person I was expecting that from but I did deserve it. I ran my hand through the sore. "Nice to see you too Rose" I told her. I sounded completely bitter so she calmed down.

"What are you doing Edward? What are you doing to Bella? I thought you loved her!" she shouted.

I was too tired and worn out to fight her. "Well, you were wrong. I will always be a playboy Rose. Is that what you want to hear?" I answered. She didn't answer so I continued. "Rose, I didn't want to hurt Bella. I really didn't. You are right, I do love her. I want to be with her right now and kiss her and just hold her. That's how much I want to be with her!" I started shouting.

"Then what are you doing with that girl? Patricia. You introduced me to her as your fiancée. Since when did you get engaged? Why to her?"

"Rose I need you to understand. I have to do this for Carlisle. Patricia's dad is one his best patients. He can bring Carlisle down if he wanted to. This all happened a long time ago and it's too late to take it back. Before I was born, when Esme was pregnant with me, Carlisle made this deal with this guy Bill. They wanted their children to get married when they grew up. So when I turned 11 I met Patricia. That's when Carlisle told me about this. At first I was against this thing, but now, I know what I have to do. So please Rose, take care of Bella for me. Talk trash about me if you have to. But help her move on. Please" I asked her. I got on my knees and started crying. I hadn't done that since the day Patricia first appeared here. And now I was trembling.

Rose kneeled next to me. "She's my best friend. I love her as if she were a sister to me. You don't have to ask me to help her cope. I'll do it anyways. I just wish things didn't have to be this way. Watching you and Bella suffer so much make me feel so useless and just… I want to scream…but nothing will change your mind, will it?" she asked me. I didn't answer. I just kept on crying. "Take care Edward and good luck with your marriage" she told me and left.

Listening to Rose's words just made me feel worse. Now I actually knew that Bella was indeed suffering. Rose would never lie about that and I cursed out loud for doing this to her.

BPOV

After seeing Edward with that girl I drove off to my hotel and booked a room. I just wanted to be alone and cry my heart out. I felt as if I had just been slapped really hard in the face. The tars just came out naturally. The memory of that one moment kept on repeating itself in my head as a blade continually being thrust in my chest. I wanted to forget and to just let go of the pain but it was being stubborn as me.

I cried until my hearts couldn't let any more tears fall. Then I fell asleep. I didn't even care what time it was. All I wanted was to let go of everything.

When I woke up, it was already dark out. I felt my body go numb and couldn't move. It was better this way; I didn't want to move anyways. Then my stomach grumbled in protest. Maybe I would die of hunger. That might solve my problem. Fate was probably looking for a way to punish me for what I did with Jake. Maybe I deserved to be played by Edward.

The memories of our times together, our smiles and our laughter, came haunting me and I wanted to crawl away and die. Tears started to fall from my eyes all over again and I just got ready for the water works. Shouldn't this be playing out differently? Shouldn't I be mad at him? Why was I so sad?

I knew the answer to that; I just didn't want to face it. I loved Edward; I loved him more than anyone in the world. I loved him more than I could ever love Jake. Now I knew the truth. I finally found the answer I was looking for and it was too late. I laughed at my tears and the whole situation. Why did I have to fall in love with someone like him?

It didn't matter why he wanted me in the first place. I wanted to run to him and be with him now. My anger wasn't strong enough to overcome the sadness. I didn't care that he was with someone else right now, I just wanted to see his smile again. I missed him terribly and it killed me inside. I couldn't even bring myself to get up and shower. I just wanted to stay in bed, alone, overcome by my emotions.

I don't know for how long I continued to cry but when I finally brought myself to go to the bathroom and saw myself in the mirror, I couldn't recognize myself. I felt like I was looking at a ghost. My face was paler than ever, and my eyes were red and puffy from crying so much and there creases in my forehead. Then there was the major headache I felt. I must have pushed my limits back there. Now that I remembered; I had never cried so much in my life.

I went back to bed and tried finding something remotely interesting to watch on TV, but there was nothing on. Everything just seemed to loose value and importance. When I turned to watch a comedy flick the romantic couple just made me feel worse because it reminded me of Edward. He had been so sweet with me and given me so much kindness. Whenever he started to act all childish with me and make jokes, it made my heart swoon. God! I was even crying just by watching TV. How lame could I be?

I could even hear Edward's voice in my head telling me that it would be all right. I really wanted it to be. I wanted him to be here with me, to tell me that it was a big misunderstanding. As I wished for these things, my chest started to ache so much and I continued crying.

I remembered Edward's look when he saw me. He was so completely surprised and at the same time, so completely distant and cold. He was the same Edward I had met years ago. Had I really lost him forever?

I could hear the couple in the TV talking. The guy was telling the girl. "I love you Amanda, will you marry me?" and the girl answered "Yes!" as any other girl would. I laughed and cried at the scene. I pictured Edward kneeling in front of me and proposing and me as the girl. Just by imagining, I felt as a piece of my heart was ripped away.

The very next day I would drive back home and ask Charlie to let move in with Renee and Phil in Florida. I couldn't stay in Forks any longer. Not if it meant seeing Edward again and suffering like I was right now. It might be cowardly of me to do this, but who was counting? Edward was being a coward by ignoring me too, wasn't he?

Just remembering Edward's coldness made my chest ache even more. My throat was completely dry by this point and my nose ached as well. I had sores all over my body. I just closed my eyes and let the darkness of the night take me away.

* * *

This last part with Bella's feelings came out of my own experience. I once lost someone important to me and I still remember the feelings, so I just put it into words. I was really crying when I wrote this, because I could picture Bella in this position.


	21. Chapter 21

Since you have been such sweethearts with me I decided to just give you the rest of the story. Yup, that means that it is Complete now. And let me be honest, this is the second story that I catually finished and I couldn't have done it without you. You kept me going and going. Thank you!!!

* * *

BPOV

The rays of sunshine woke me up. As I tried to get up, I felt my body heavy and weak. I couldn't remember why I felt this way at first, but then it hit me like a lightening bolt. It didn't hurt as much as before though. I seemed to be through with the shock and now all that was left was my hollow heart. I noticed I had left the TV on last night and went to turn it off.

I got up from bed and went to take a shower. Normally the warm water would make me feel better, but right now I was so numb, it didn't make a hell of a difference. I just let the water hit my body and take the pain in my body away. When I got out and saw myself in the mirror I recognized the same ghost in my reflection. My eyes were still the same as before, my skin was as pale as ever, and my lips were dry. I washed my face thorough fully to try and look better. When I got back home I didn't want Charlie to notice I was crying; that would worry him a lot and I didn't need that right now.

I packed my stuff in my bag and left. I made sure I stopped at an Ihop close by and ate. The food lost its appeal to me and I only ate to satisfy my stomach. I really didn't want to be near people and the waitress was way to cheery for my own good. As soon as I was gone I paid and left without a single word. The waitress might think I was one of those bitches that hated to wake up early, but I didn't care.

Charlie was gone by the time I came back. He must think I was still in Seattle, which gave me extra time to pack my stuff. I wanted to get out of Forks as soon as possible. I know this would hurt Charlie a lot, but maybe I just wasn't meant to stay here.

It didn't take me long to put things together and it was still early by the time I was done. I looked around my room and felt the wave crash over me. I fell to the ground and started weeping. I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to be far from him but at the same time I had to go. My heart couldn't decide and my mind kept on fighting against it. Finally I decided I had to leave the house for a while. I may not want to be around too many people, but I did need a certain someone. I just hoped he was available right now.

I drove to La Push with the intent of telling Jake everything and turning him down and luckily he wasn't doing anything at the very moment, so he was free to see me. We walked for while in the beach, side by side.

"You already decided, didn't you?" he asked me. He read my mind like he always did. I flinched at his words. It wasn't as if I just chose Edward. All I did was realize that I could never love Jake the way he deserved to be loved. All I had for him was a crush was dissipated with time. Now I was only able to see him as an overprotective brother; nothing else.

I stopped in my tracks and spoke. "Sorry Jake. But I can't….my feelings for you aren't strong enough. I know it's asking too much, but I still want to be your friend. I still need you" I answered him. My voice was so cold it scared me. The wind suddenly felt too cold to my skin and I held my arms crossed trying to warm myself. Jake came closer and held me in his arms. It was so warm here. I may not feel my heart beating, but I could feel the warmth in my body.

"Don't worry Bells. I'll always be there for you" he whispered.

After walking for a while, Jake took me to his shed, where he usually hid things, like his new bike. I started at it in surprise. I knew Jake craved the danger so it shouldn't be as surprising that he got himself a bike in the first place.

His question was what shocked me. "Want to ride with me?" he asked me. I took a step back and he understood my answer to be a no. I know I felt really shitty right now, but I wasn't about to risk my life in a dangerous endeavor like this one. I trusted Jake and I knew he was a good rider, I just didn't trust the damn bike. There was something that made it incredibly tempting though. As I saw the red shine and the bars, and the clutches, I realized I wanted to be the one to ride it.

I got closer to the bike until I could touch it and felt the leather on the seat and the metal handle bars. The motor roared to life and I realized Jake had already put the key in the ignition. The sound scared me a little and I flinched back. But when it dawned on me, I got closer again and actually got on. It felt good to be on top, and the sound of the motor just made it all the more exhilarating.

"Bells…you have to seat behind me. Just…hold on tight to me, okay?" Jake was telling me but I didn't move. He instantly knew what I meant. "Bells…you don't know how to ride this thing. You're going to get hurt" he warned me. I wanted to laugh at his words. Get hurt? News flash! I was already hurt and broken inside. The physical pain was never a problem for me. I lived for it. Call me a masochist, but pain just didn't affect me as much as other people. I constantly found ways of breaking a leg or spraining an ankle. I hated the fact that I was so clumsy. I would probably find a way of falling from the bike due to my clumsiness, but right now, I didn't care. I wanted to feel the speed and the wind blow against my hair.

Jake seemed to get the message and gave up. I thought he was going to turn off the ignition to keep me from killing myself in this thing, but he started to instruct me on how to ride to bike. He explained to me what all the parts did and how to stop it in case something went wrong. I felt thankful to him for his understanding. It had always been easy like this with him. He hated to argue with me so he normally just let me do whatever I wanted. It was like pampering me.

It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Of course at some point down the road I felt myself loose control of the bike and crashed against a railing but thankfully, neither the bike nor the railing hurt me. Jake was scared though, and he drove us back to the shed.

I was shocked to listen to the sound of my laughter when I came back. I didn't think I was capable of ever smiling again, much less laugh. But there it was. The laughter I always shared whenever I was with Jake.

"Geez woman! Did you hit your head with that railing back there? I think you lost it" Jake joked. I just kept on laughing like a dork which in turn made him laugh too.

The day had passed in a blur. I didn't even realize when nightfall came and I remembered why I had come in the first place. When the memories hit me again, I fell to the ground and started shivering. Jake kneeled beside me and held me in his arms like before. "Bells…what happened? Are you okay?" he asked me. I didn't want to utter the words that would make it all real. So I just shook my head and lied. I knew my smile came out all wrong and he didn't believe me. I was thankful that he didn't ask any more and just took me to my truck. "If you ever crave any company Bells… I'll always be here for you, okay?" he told me before I left.

Charlie was warming up some leftovers in the micro wave by the time I came back. "Hey dad. How was fishing?" I asked him.

"Oh! Very calm. How about Seattle? Did you find anything nice?" he asked back.

"Some stuff" I answered. Short sentences; that's the way I always talked to Charlie, using short sentences. I tried to find a way of telling him about Florida but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. After spending the day with Jake, I started to think about it, and now I didn't want to leave Forks. I did say I was a masochist, didn't I? Maybe seeing Edward with that girl again would be own way of inflicting self punishment. Besides, I couldn't leave Charlie and run away from all this. I had a life here. I had two good friends whom I loved with all my heart and one best friend who would be devastated if I left. And one last thing; Renee would have me friend and killed if she ever found out I moved in with her because of some buy problem. She always preached me about being strong and facing my problems.

By the end of the day I was decided. I was going to stay, even if it killed me.

School was its own usual boring self. Finals were getting close so the teachers started to review the contents we learned all throughout the school year. As was to be expected, Edward didn't show for class, yet again. This was a relief for me. I wasn't ready to see him just yet.

I tried to smile like I used to and hide my sadness from everyone else, however leave it to Alice and Rose to notice my anguish. I couldn't hide anything from them as much as I tried. After school was over for the day, Rose asked me to stop by her place to help her with some math problems. I tried to get myself out of this one but she won that fight.

Once we were alone in her room, she cornered me. "What happened to you Bella? Last time we talked you told me you were going to Seattle. I thought that it would make you feel better…" she was saying but then she stopped mid-sentence. "You didn't! You saw?" she asked me.

I looked at her with a confused expression. "Saw what?" I asked her. Did she know about Edward's new girlfriend already? Was she in Seattle that day?

"Edward" she answered simply.

Hearing that name made me start crying all over again and I remembered that scene in the mall again. Rose seemed to understand my reaction.

"I'm so sorry Bella. I wish you didn't have to see that" she comforted me.

It seemed like lately all I did was cry and cry. Every move I made, every little thing I did, every place that I went to, it all reminded me of Edward and it killed me inside. I wanted to avoid this pain so badly but in the end I lost. I let my guard down and got burned in the process.

The weeks started to pass in a blur. I lost my focus and I didn't know where I was anymore. I wasn't as cheerful as before and I was completely ignoring my friends. It was as if part of me was left behind and all that was left was a soulless body. I couldn't feel anything anymore. I wasn't sad or happy, I just was neutral. I think the sock of what happened worn itself out.

Edward also started to show up in school again, and sometimes I saw him with his new girl. I thought this would hurt me and make me want to fall apart, however, I remained calm. Watching him with someone else didn't bring any pain at all. It was as if nothing ever happened between the two of us.

When he walked down the halls, neither of us recognized the other. It wasn't that we were ignoring each other; we were just acting as complete strangers now. You can consider it to be childish but this was my way of coping. I wasn't going to break down and cry in front of Edward Cullen. I had too much pride for that.

One afternoon, I was cleaning the kitchen when I heard the doorbell. It was the weekend so I wasn't expecting anyone to come up for a visit. I knew Alice and Rose were out shopping with Jasper and Emmett. So it surprised me a bit to hear someone ringing the doorbell. I ran to the door, almost tripping with the vacuum cleaner in the process. When I opened the door I landed in someone's arms. When I looked at the person, I felt as if my world were crashing on top of me over again. I instantly let go and backed away.

Edward seemed just as uncomfortable as I was. "Sorry to scare you like that. I can see you were busy, but this won't take long. Can we talk?" he asked.

I really wanted to turn him down and close the door in his face. After everything he did, that the response he deserved from me. I couldn't bring myself to do that. I wanted to talk to him because I missed so much. I am sorry to say that I was weak around him now. Every natural response in my brain was ignored by my heart.

I let him in and led him to the living room. He didn't sit. So, it was really going to be short. I could handle it.

"Bella, I have been the worst friend to you lately. An for that I am terribly sorry. I wish thing didn't have to turn out this way. I was scared of breaking everything off with you because never during our moments together did I lie to you" he told me. I could see the honesty in his eyes.

"Then what changed? What made you want someone else? Was I not good enough?" I asked him. As much as I tried to hold back my tears, they were there. My throat felt so heavy and my heart was so painful, I thought I was going to explode.

"I….I fell for someone else. I'm sorry. I tried to want only you, but I was selfish. I'm sorry I hurt you" he said and left.

As soon as the door closed I fell on my knees and started weeping. It was really over now. The moment I fought so hard to avoid finally happened. I didn't care who heard me, I just cried my heart out.


	22. Chapter 22

BPOV

I don't know when I fell asleep. All I know is that one moment I was crying and the next I woke up in my bed. I guessed the person who carried me to bed was Charlie. Which meant that he now knew something was wrong. When I went downstairs, he was already in the kitchen reading the paper. I could sense his intense gaze on me trying to read me and guess how I felt at the moment. He didn't have to work so hard with that because it was all pretty obvious by the look in my eyes. I had them all puffed again.

I was glad Charlie didn't say anything. He just watched me carefully and kept silence. This was just what I needed. I know I will recover at some point in time. I just needed that time.

I planned to stay the whole day at home and read one of my books. When I was looking for my hardcover of Romeo and Juliet I let something fall from my desk. I bent down to pick it up and noticed it was the gift I bought for Edward. The book I meant to give him. A tear fell on the bag and I held it close to my chest as if it were something really precious.

After thinking about it for a while, I decided to drive to Edward's and leave it on his front door. I wasn't going to leave a tag on it so he wouldn't know who gave it to him. I didn't want him to think I was trying to get him back. I knew better than that. I knew Edward and there was nothing that would change his mind. He was stubborn like that and I loved that part of his personality.

Driving to the Cullen mansion wasn't as hard and painful as I though it would be. It actually was easy. As long as I didn't cross with Edward, I was fine. Thankfully his car wasn't in the driveway, which meant he was probably out with his new girlfriend. So I did as I planned; I left the book in his front door and drove off.

EPOV

Patricia was turning more of a bitch than I ever though. I kind of underestimated her which I shouldn't have. Without any warning she started showing up in school bring me lunch which just pissed me off. I wanted to keep this part of my life separate from her. It was my time to be myself around my friends. And I didn't want to make Bella any more uncomfortable than she probably already was.

That wasn't what got to me though. Patricia must have been really desperate because she finally showed her true colors in front of me. At first I thought she was as much a victim as I was at the moment, but she knew the truth this whole time, and she used her position as leverage. There was no way I could get myself out of this and she knew it.

One afternoon she cornered me in the guy's bathroom in school. She was smiling mischievously which just made it obvious that she was up to something. I tried of leaving but she blocked the only exit there was so I was forced to hear her out.

"What do you want now Patricia?" I asked her. I tried to sound casual, but my tone came out a bit more intense than I expected.

"I know the little secret you've been hiding from me Edward. Who would have known that the school playboy finally fell for a girl? What would daddy say if I ever told him you were planning on leaving me for someone else? Oh! I can well imagine. He would grow furious because you hurt his baby girl and he would sue your dad. I wonder if your family has enough money to pay for a suit? Oh! wait, that wouldn't be the worst case scenario. If my dad does sue your dad, that would mean that Carlisle would loose his practice. Poor Carlisle. We can't let that happen, now can we?" she said in her sweet voice.

I wanted to strangle her for her words. It was pretty clear now that she was now innocent. She had it all planned. She really did want me. I laughed. "Fine, you win Patricia. Congratulations. Now, what do you want?"

"I want you to break everything off with that Bella girl. You will speak to her again in your whole life. She is your past and I'm your future now. Got that? You are mine Edward Cullen and there is no way in hell that I'm letting you go" she threatened me.

I grabbed her wrist and threw her against the wall. "I don't respond well to threats Patricia. I won't stop myself once we're husband and wife and I'm free to do as I please with you. If you want to be a bitch about this then fine, but no one ever threatens me or my family. I'll break things off with Bella if that is what you want. Just get ready, because I may turn out to be a monster you can't tame" I responded and left.

Jasper and Emmet were waiting for me outside. They kind of figured what could have happened inside and left me alone.

That Saturday I went to Bella's place and said my final goodbye. As much as I hated pleasing Patricia, I had no other choice. That bitch was right; she had me. Once we were married I would make her pay. I've always hated the idea of domestic violence and hurting women in general. I found it sick and repulsing but right now the idea appealed me a lot. She had it coming.

It killed me to know that I was making Bella cry again, but I didn't show it. Once I was outside, I fell to the ground and cried. I wanted to open the door again and run after her and beg for her apology. I was close to doing so but I stopped myself. As hard as it was, I turned around and drove away.

Fir the next couple of days, Patricia was more demanding than veer. She wanted me to drive her everywhere as her own personal chuffer. I really considered the idea of leaving her stranded in the middle of nowhere. Actually, Emmet gave me the idea during one of our basket ball games. I laughed for the first time in ages at that.

One afternoon, after taking little miss princess to have a pedicure, I came back home and found a bag in front of the door. It had my name on it but it didn't say from who it was. When I opened it I found a hardcover book. I smiled at the cover. The title was "_The Little Prince_". Bella probably left this for me. I couldn't hold back a laugh. She really did know me. I missed that part of her the most; her understanding and compassion.

This book was one of my favorites when I was a child. My grandfather had bought it for me to teach me a lesson. At first I wanted to throw the book away and go out to play with Emmet and Jasper but my grandpa forbade me to leave the room until I was done with the book. This was his way of punishing me. I found the book boring and stupid. The kid was stupid. He had all the money in the world and he still wasn't happy. If I had all those riches there was no telling what I would do. But then it dawned on me. I may have money, but could I live without my friends?

A tear fell on the cover of the book. Remembering this part of my life was not a trip to Disneyland for sure. I missed my grandfather terribly and I hoped that wherever he was, he was happy. The last time I saw him was when I was 10. Then two years later, my dad got news that his father got sick and a month after, grandfather died. It affected both me and Alice in unimaginable ways. We loved him so very much and his life lessons were what made us the people we were today.

I left the book he gave me back in his apartment in England and after that, I lost it because the apartment was sold to a happy couple who could afford it. Holding this book in my hands made me happy. I wished I could thank Bella for this but that would mean uncovering her secret. She probably didn't want me to know this gift was from her. That's why she didn't write her name on it.

I started to read the book once I was alone in my room. The paragraphs brought back so many memories. I could hear grandfather's voice, so gruff and authoritative.

Time passed so quickly. Before I knew it the semester was over and we had Christmas break. I finally graduated from high school and my parents threw me a big bash to celebrate. All of my friends were there but it still felt incomplete. There was one person missing and I couldn't enjoy the party because of that. Of course I smiled and pretended everything was fine, but deep down, I felt empty and lonely.

BPOV

Finally Christmas break came. It was already snowing here in Forks. Everyone was in a heap because of that. Everywhere I went; kids were either having snowball fights or building snow men. Charlie even asked me if I wanted to join them. I declined. Ever since I was small I hated the snow and the cold. It made me tremble a lot and it was more uncomfortable than the warmth of the sun.

I suddenly remembered that school being over meant that Edward was leaving for good. He had graduated early and now he was off to Dartmouth. I don't know why, but this just bought a wave of solitude to my heart. When Alice mentioned Edward's party during lunch on our last of school, she was very careful not to let me hear. Edward probably didn't want me there and Alice wanted to avoid making me feel worse by talking about it with me.

I hated this part. Ever since Edward and I stopped hanging out, Alice started to behave differently around me. I didn't want her to choose between me and Edward, and if it meant that being my friend was making things difficult for her, then it was best if we stopped being friends too. Maybe this would make it easier for me to have no contact with Edward.

When I mentioned this to Alice she totally overreacted. "Bella! You know I don't want that! You are my very best friend! A sister t me! I'm just worried about you and Edward. Neither one of you is happy anymore" she confessed.

"I'm sorry Alice. I try. It's just so hard. You should know this better than anyone. How do you think you would feel if Jasper left you for someone else?" I asked her. This left her speechless. "And what do you mean by Edward is not happy? He loves that girl, doesn't he?" I asked her again. Something was not adding up now.

Alice ignored my question and changed the subject. I didn't push for answers anyways. I didn't care anymore. Edward was free to do as he wanted.

The night of Edward's party I went to Jake's place to just hang out. We played Super Mario in his PS2. It was really fun to be around him. And all the awkwardness from before was completely gone. He never mentioned his feelings for me ever again. It was back to our old friendship. It was as if things never changed between us. And he still sucked at video games. It made me laugh how after every single race he got ware and said I cheated.

"How the hell did I cheat Jake?" I asked him. I was laughing too hard at his expression right now that it made my stomach hurt. He got on top of me and started tickling me. I was almost in tears now. I fought hard to push Jake away but between my movements and my laughter he won. At some point he stopped and looked at me with his big grin. "What?" I asked him. I hadn't smiled like this in weeks. And I hadn't cried in over three weeks now. I think that without Jake's help, I wouldn't have recovered so easily.

"You're beautiful when you smile. You should stay like this. I hate watching you cry Bells" he answered and without any warning kissed me. I pushed him away and panicked. We both froze for a moment. Neither one of us knew what to say or how to react. I though Jake was over this. Clearly, I was wrong.

I got up and grabbed my jacket. I was close to the door but Jake blocked it. "Bells don't run away. I know that you are suffering after that asshole left you, but let me mend the pieces. I can make you happy! A few weeks ago you told me I deserved better, and I disagree. You are the best thing that ever happened to me and I need you just as much as you need me. So stop lying to yourself. I know you love me as more than a friend" he told me. I felt like I was having a déjà vu. Apparently Jake was too persistent for his own good.

I turned around to face him. "I can't Jake. I am broken right now and no one can mend the pieces, not even you. Part of what you said is true. I do love you, but you are wrong when you say that it's more than just friendship because it isn't. I can only see you as that. What I had before was a crush, nothing else. I'm sorry" I answered.

He got closer to me and grabbed my hand. "I'll fight for you Bells. One way or the other I will get you to be mine" he told me and hugged me.

At the moment I though, what the hell? I was already having a déjà vu, might as well let it continue. It wasn't as if anything was going to happen between us. Even if Edward was out of the picture for good, my heart would always belong to only him.


	23. Chapter 23

6 months later…

BPOV

I woke up to the sound of Jake's beeper and realized I had fallen asleep on his couch yet again. I cursed under my breath and started getting my things to leave. If I came back home late, Charlie would probably suspect I was up to no good, which would be right, but I didn't want him to know that.

I heard Jake grumble under his breath and look at me confused. "Why are you in such a hurry babe?" he asked me. I sighed under my breath and went to his side. He pulled me towards him in a big embrace and kissed me full in the lips. I laughed at his behavior.

"I need to go or else Charlie will stop by here and shoot you with his shotgun. I don't really want you to die Jake" I told him. Jake just laughed it off and started kissing me on my neck which tickled me and gave him leverage to play with me again.

Ever since we started dating, he was all lovey dovey with me. He was always holding me tight or kissing me. I'm not complaining or anything, it just took me by surprise at first. I never expected this side of him. I actually grew to like it.

You may be wondering how the hell I started dating Jake and to be honest, I don't remember myself. We just kept on hanging out as we always did and thing changed; feelings changed. Edward had moved to Boston to study in Dartmouth and I simply moved on. I was so stubborn that I continued fighting with myself over my feelings for Jake but in the end I realized, even if I didn't love him now, I could grow to love him some day. All that mattered was that he made me happy like no one else could.

I threatened Jake to stop seeing him for a week if he didn't let me go, so he let his hands go. I kissed him one last time and left. Thankfully the coast was clear and Charlie was no where to be seen. I started cooking his favorite dish when I heard his car door close and his grunt in the entrance.

"Smells great Bells. What is on the menu?" he asked me. Ever since I started dating Jake he had started to act all friendly with me. I knew why. He and Billy were probably out planning our wedding already, and I was just in high school. I rolled my eyes at the idea.

"I'll let you figure it out dad. So, how was your day?" I asked him.

"Nothing special. You know in a town so small as this one, nothing really ever happens. Just some kids get arrested for DUI" he answered.

The rest of the night continued in a similar fashion. We both had small talks and then I went upstairs to my room to work on my homework. Finals would soon come up and I had to be ready for them. It felt good though. It wasn't cold anymore and the summer was approaching.

Jake and I had planned to make a round trip to Phoenix and then to Miami to visit my mom. I had asked Charlie for his permission and he agreed only with the condition that Jake and I sleep in separate beds. I laughed when Charlie mentioned this and blushed a little because Jake was in the same room at the moment. I was washing the dishes and he was playing Texas Hold' Em with Charlie. I looked back at Jake and smiled. Sure, I could keep this little promise to him, it wasn't as if he was going to be watching over me at the time. Knowing Jake, he will want to share the same bed as me.

I'm not saying we're already having sex or anything because we're not. I haven't gone there with him yet. It just doesn't feel right. As much as I care about Jake, I can only sleep with him but not make love to him. Get the difference? Not that many people do. Alice is always nagging me about using protection and being safe. Rose just teaches me some sex moves I could never even imagine possible.

I know it sounds lame that I haven't gone there with Jake since he is technically my boyfriend. But I'm just not ready yet. I was hoping that this trip would make things a bit easier for me. If not, then we could just share a bed together and not do anything.

EPOV

"Edward! I need your opinion on what shoes to wear for the wedding. We are only three weeks away from it and I want it to be perfect" Patricia told me.

We were in one of the finest shoe stores there was in Boston. I sighed in frustration. I didn't care about what shoe she would wear to the fucking wedding. God knew I didn't even care about Patricia! These past months were torture for me. I may be in college but I still hated my classes. They were so boring and tedious. In order to marry Patricia and work in her dad's company I had to graduate with a B.S in Business and Accounting. Let me tell you, the classes made me want to shoot myself and bleed to death. There were so many numbers that made no sense to me. The teachers tried to explain to me that it all affected the economy and that our every decision could affect many others. At some point they started explaining the stock market and how it works.

In between classes and making Patricia happy, I was exhausted. I needed to sleep so badly. I missed my home and my family. I didn't think it would be this hard to be away from them.

One other thing. I was wishing and praying to God that I could stay in a dorm with another student just like me, but Patricia just had to ruin that for me too. She found us an apartment nearby and asked me to move in with her or else she would call off the wedding. I hit myself many times with the wall after that. Living with her was excruciatingly painful. Not only did she want to be under the same roof, she also wanted to share the same bed with me. I think that people's personalities really do show themselves when you're asleep because Patricia was horrible when she slept. She snored so loudly I think even China could hear her. I had to start wearing ear plugs to drain the excess noise. When I went to sleep on the couch, the very next day she had a fit about it.

Imagine living like that for six whole months!

The worst part of it all was that I knew I was taking all my frustration out on my family and friends. Every time I met up with either Jasper or Emmett, I ended up complaining about Patricia in some form or another. They didn't really say anything about it; they just laughed it off came back with ideas on how to get rid of her, which were for the most part unrealistic.

It had been six months since the last time that I saw Bella and I still missed her like hell. Every time I grabbed the book she gave me, I remembered her snide comments and her cute smile. That was what I missed the most about Forks. My family still came by to visit once in a while. And Alice once came during spring break to tell me that Bella was dating Jacob Black. She was probably expecting me to explode in some jealous rage and go back to Forks and leave Patricia. I disappointed her however. I just smiled and said that I was glad for the both of them. I didn't hate Jacob anymore, and if he was making Bella happy then I couldn't ask for more. As long as she was fine, then I had no regrets over my decision.

"But Edward, I know that she doesn't want to be with Jacob. She wants you. Even after all this time, she hasn't been able to forget you. I can tell that she still loves you" she told me. I could see the worry in her eyes and it made me uncomfortable.

I sat next to her in my bed. "Look Alice, I already cut Bella off. I can't speak to her or get near her. Even if by some miracle in heaven she still wants me, there's nothing I can do. I'm trapped here. Don't you think I want to run off and see her? I miss her like hell Alice but I can't… so… if she's happy with Jacob Black I'm happy for her. Now, can we talk about something else please?" I begged her. It wasn't that it bothered me to talk about Bella. I was glad to hear from her but this conversation was getting repetitive.

"Jasper was wondering whether you were up for a camping trip. We wanted to go down to Tennessee and get us some bears. Emmet was really excited. Please say you'll go" she looked at me with sad puppy eyes which made me stifle a laugh. She looked adorable when she did that. I felt bad to disappoint her.

"As long as little miss which from the west doesn't go, I'm all for it. It might help me get rid of some stress. So, how are things going with Jasper? Are you still crazy about him?" I asked her. She blushed and giggled.

"Jasper is quite the gentleman. Although he has been busy lately. He has to fill out all of his college applications because he wants to graduate as early as you did. He feels like you abandoned him. And Emmet…he's the worst. I feel sorry for Rose. She had to put with his constant whining. Jesus! We never thought you three were that inseparable" Alice answered.

I felt a wave of nostalgia by hearing my friends' names. I probably missed just as much as they missed me. I wish I could take a break from everything and hang out with them, but so far, Patricia and school had me completely booked. But that was no longer an issue. I promised to go camping with them this Sunday. And nothing was going to stop me from going. I would even accept being kidnapped. That might be a solution.

I worked hard during the week to try and leave as little homework as possible for the weekend. Then I packed my bags for the trip. So far, Patricia had no idea of my plans. She thought I was going to spend the whole two days at home with her picking out decorations for the rehearsal dinner.

When the time came, I called Jasper and Emmet to come pick me up. The operation was flawless and the results a complete success. I was laughing all the way. Patricia's face was one to remember forever. Let me just tell you what we did.

There were two problems with our plan. One was that the apartment was small and it would be a bit obvious if I was leaving because Patricia normally spent her afternoons in the living room reading some stupid lame ass magazine. In other words, I was watched like a hawk. However, I always liked a challenge. And this time, she was going to be pawned so badly.

The second problem was the matter of distraction. Patricia was not an easy person to fool. I had to look for her weakness and use it against her. This wasn't too difficult to solve. I knew what every girl craved in a boyfriend, or fiancée for that matter.

I went to the kitchen to look for something to eat when I noticed Patricia was right behind me. "You're hiding something from me. What are you planning on doing Edward?" she asked me. I looked around all innocently and lied. I went closer to her and put my arms around her waist.

"I would never hide anything from you sweetie" I told her and kissed her in the lips. Would you believe me if I told you kissing Patricia was like kissing a frog? It was nauseating, however, if I wanted my plan to work, I had to be a pro and act the part. This didn't convince her though, so I grabbed my bag of Cheetoh's and left her there to ponder over my behavior.

Fifteen minutes later, I went to the living room and sure enough, she was reading as if she had no care in the world. I went to her side and started kissing her in the neck. At first she pushed me away but then thought better about it and fell in my trap. While I made out with her, Jasper and Emmet came in and took my stuff to load it in the Jeep. Patricia had no idea of what was going and the guys were very silent; like ninjas. Once they were gone I let of Patricia and started to leave. She was still a bit overwhelmed by our kiss to think at all, so I took the opportunity and left.

It didn't take her much to realize I was leaving. She ran after me but by that point the elevator doors were closing and she was a tad late. I laughed to myself. She didn't give up easily though, and I have to give her credit for perseverance. She went down the stairs trying to catch up to me. By the time she made it to the lobby and out to the building garage, I was already in Emmet's jeep and she was breathless and sweating, and did I forget to add in rage? It was hilarious! I was laughing all the way to Tennessee!

This was one of the best moments I had lived yet. And it was all thanks to Emmet and Jasper. What would I do without them?

BPOV

Since it was Spring Break and all, I asked Charlie whether I could go on a hiking trip with Alice and Rose. He seemed content enough, and he knew Jake would most probably be a part of this trip, so he was more relaxed. It got him nervous to think that three girls were alone in the wilderness with no one to protect them. Whether you believe it or not, Charlie believed a lot in chivalry. But when I told him about Jake, he sighed in relief and let me go.

Of course, I asked Alice beforehand whether Edward was planning on being there or not. If he was, I was out of the picture. It's not that I wanted to avoid him, I just knew there were certain boundaries now that I shouldn't cross. Edward made it really clear the last time I talked to him. And Alice told me that he would probably have something to do with his fiancée so he wouldn't be able to show up.

The day of the camping trip I waited for Alice to come pick me up and before leaving, Charlie gave me a can of pepper spray, as if that would help much in the woods. Who was I going to use against? A bear? I laughed at Charlie's little gift and hugged him tight.

"I'll be fine dad. If there's a bear nearby I'll Jake there to protect me" I joked. He grunted at my little joke and let go of me. 5 seconds later I heard Alice honk her horn. I grabbed my bad and left.

Since we were in Forks Washington, which is in the other side of the Continental US, Alice, Rose and I had to buy plane tickets. Now, for them, this was not much of an expense, but I had to work long hours in Newton's store to save up money for this trip and the one to Phoenix, and the one to Florida. In the end I managed to get enough. I was saving up for the last two trips for over a year already anyways.

The guys went ahead before us because they wanted to make a short stop to visit a friend. I figured it would be Edward and Alice confirmed it, however she did also tell me that Edward was not going on the trip. The guys were driving to Tennessee without him.

You might be wondering why we couldn't just camp in Forks. I mean, there are a lot of forests there given that it rains 80% of the time. But Alice was pent up on going to Tennessee to see the flowers and the scenery and all that crap. I was too tired at the time to argue with her so that's how I ended up on a plane going to the other side of the country.

When we finally arrived at the hotel we were staying for the night, I recognized Emmett's jeep parked there. I guessed the guys were already inside the lobby waiting for us. And sure enough, they were, just not alone as they told me on the phone. As soon as I recognized the third person in the group of men I felt my bag fall to the floor and I froze. I couldn't believe it.

He was as surprised to see me as I was to see him though.


	24. Chapter 24

EPOV

Holy shit.

That's the first thing that came to my head when I saw Bella. She looked so different. She was taller, fuller, and had highlights in her hair. She way hotter than the last I saw her at her place. And she was wearing contacts, green to be exact. I was impressed and speechless. Neither one of us moved. It was as if the rest of the world just disappeared and we were both alone.

But then reality kicked in. I saw Jacob put his arm around Bella and kiss her head. A surge of jealousy ran through me and I thoughts of different ways to make the guy suffered, that was, until I saw Bella smile warmly at him. They both walked past me as if I weren't even there, which was understandable. I did create a boundary between the two of us; I couldn't expect anything less from Bella.

Once the happy couple was gone, I grabbed Jasper and Emmet by the back of their shirts and pulled them outside. I didn't want to create a scene inside.

"You fucking son of bitches! What the fuck were you thinking….no….why…how…I…I have to go…I can't stay here" I ranted. I was walking back and forth trying to vent all my anger. I wasn't expecting to feel this way just by watching Bella so close to Jacob, but there it was; the unspeakable rage and jealousy.

"Edward…you two need to clear things out. You need to tell her the truth. We are done hiding and covering for you! We saw Bella cry and shed tears for you. Do you have any idea what that made us feel? How it hurt your sister to watch her best friend so hurt? And this isn't only about her. You are suffering just as much as she is! We know you still have feelings for her! And it's time you realized that. Stop running away!" Jasper shouted back. He looked really pissed. Now it was pretty obvious this was a setup. I cursed under my breath. Emmet however, just remained calm.

"Look man…you can get as pissed as you want…but think about it. You already broke one of Patricia's precious rules, might as well break another one, don't you think? I mean, what can she do now? Call daddy dearest and have you arrested?" he finally said.

I looked at him annoyed. "You know that's not what is bothering me" I told him.

"Then what is?" Jasper asked.

I turned around and sighed. "I thought I was fine with knowing that she was with Jacob. I mean, it didn't bother me when Alice told me, but seeing her now…she looks so different and so beautiful. It's like tempting an alcoholic with a bottle of scotch or whisky. I want her and I can't have her. I never thought it would hurt so much" I admitted.

Both guys stayed silent. It remained that way until I went to my room. we had already gotten our keys earlier.

I made sure Jasper booked me a room to myself. I wanted to have some time to myself and figure some things out. I opened the liquor cabinet and purred myself a cup of whiskey. The liquid felt hot in my throat and it made some of my worries fade away. I didn't know how I was going to handle tomorrow, but I had to find a way. I had to be an idiot and drive here with Emmet. If I had brought my own car, I wouldn't be in this mess. I would probably find another hotel and go back to Boston in the morning.

The next day we all drove to a camping site nearby and parked our cars. The whole walk up the trail, Jacob had his arm around Bella and she didn't complain once. Seeing them be so closed was not proving to be good for me. I was irritated the whole walk. Bella didn't seem too comfortable with her position either. Sometimes I caught her looking back at me but immediately turned away. And she had her arms crossed in front of her. I would have expected to see her have her arms around Jacob, but he the only one holding on to her.

I didn't say anything though. I just kept silent all the way. Once up we started to put up our tents. Rose and Emmet were sharing one, Alice and Jasper had another, which left Bella with Jacob. The thought made my stomach twist and turn. It was painful to watch him get close to Bella, but it was something totally different to know they were sleeping together. I should have imagined though. They should have been dating for months already. Sleeping together is not a new development in a relationship. Even I was sleeping with Patricia. Not that we ever had sex. We just slept in the same bed, that's all. Besides, I was his fiancée, this was expected, right?

I put up my tent making a lot noise. I was too pissed to even care. I think I even heard Rosalie complain behind me, but it didn't stop me. I just kept on doing my own thing. The images of watching that slime ball have his arms around Bella and cuddling with her made me want to beat him to a bloody pulp. Then again, I still owed him one. I might just let my fists do the talking for me.

Once I was done with my tent, I left to look for some wood to make a camp fire. I needed to be alone and vent where no one could see or hear me. I finally found a stream and fell to the ground and cried. I know that it's my own fault that she's with him, and I want to be happy for her, but it's like being stabbed once and again and it hurts so much. I started hitting the rocks beneath me in frustration making my palms start to bleed. I thought it would be more painful and it would lessen the stab in my heart, but I didn't feel anything.

BPOV

Seeing Edward in front of me made something in my heart turn. My body wanted to run across the room and hold him in my arms. I didn't think I missed him that much but right now, all I wanted was to be with him, alone. I remembered how good it felt to be in his arms and felt my eyes water. Jake must have sensed this because he put his arm around me waist and pulled me out of my trance. I looked away from Edward and started to walk away with Jake. I couldn't stay near Edward any more. Not if it meant that I would end up feeling like I was right now.

Jake took me to my room and then left without saying a word. It worried me that he was acting unaffectionate all of a sudden. It wasn't like him to be this cold with me. I didn't run after him though. I put the key in and threw myself on the bed. This trip was turning to be quite a mess for me. How was I going to handle Edward and Jake? And what was that feeling I had back in the lobby? Edward's look still plagued me. His brown chestnut eyes were piercing me and trying to read me as he always did. I blushed at the thought. There was no way Edward still had feelings for me. He had his fiancée after all, and his wedding will take place in just a couple of weeks. I shook my head. I had to get Edward out of my system for good. It was obvious that I hadn't yet.

I heard a knock on my bedroom door and let Alice and Rose in. I gave them a reproachful look waiting for an explanation. This was clearly a setup orchestrated by them.

"We're so sorry Bella. I know this must seem like a nightmare for you but all of us thought that this is what you and Edward need" Alice finally confessed.

When I didn't say anything Rose intervened. "Bella, just a few months back you were crying like a baby in my house. You told me that you loved Edward and that you needed him. Don't come telling me that changed. Your hair, and your eyes and your new tattoo might have changed you a bit physically but your heart still wants Edward"

"I'm with Jake now! He's my boyfriend! And you guys know that. You all have to accept that. I know you don't like the Quiluette that much, but please be happy for me and let me live my life how I want it" I told them.

"It's not that Bella. Just tell me one thing: Do you love Jake?" Alice asked me.

I was taken aback by her question. That was a subject I liked to avoid. I didn't know what my feelings for Jake were just yet. I knew I cared about him a lot and I wanted to be with him, but was it enough to call it love? The first time Jake confessed his feelings to me, I thought I only wanted him as a friend, but now, things changed. I laid down on my bed and covered my face with my hands. "I….I don't know" I answered,

'

"Now tell me, do you still love Edward?" Rose asked me.

This was another question for which I had no answer. The girls took this to be a yes and left me alone to ponder over everything. I laughed at myself. What a pathetic idiot I was turning out to be. Maybe I just didn't deserve to be happy.

The next day, Jake was still a bit distant during our hike. He had his arm around me thought. That gave me a clue as to what he was feeling. Once or twice I looked back at Edward and noticed he was a bit grumpy and then looked at Jake, he had a similar expression. Then it dawned on me. The reason Jake was behaving this way was because of Edward. He wasn't happy with the new member in the group and felt protective. This was awkward and weird. I didn't enjoy being treated as a possession and Jake was making me feel like one. So I kept my arms to myself trying to give him a clue as to keep his distance a little bit; he never got that message.

To top everything off; Jake and I had planned to sleep under one tent. At first the idea appealed to me, since it would make things easier during our trip to Phoenix, but having Edward here watching me, made things more complicated. I could sense Edward getting angry when he noticed Jake was helping me with my tent. I wanted to run away as far as my legs could take me, anywhere far away from both guys. It was getting too hard to be around both of them. I had already made a choice, why was I in this position again? What did Edward want? It frustrated me that he behaved this way.

After finishing with his tent I heard him leave. I sighed in relief. Jake gave an annoyed look and left me alone. I went after him. I called out his name but he was ignoring me. I ran faster until I caught up to him and got in front of him. "Jake! Would you talk to me? Please?" I asked him.

"Bells…I…I'm sorry. I just…I'm scared." he told me and hugged me. I returned the embrace. I knew very well what he was scared about because I felt the same exact way once before. I just felt guilty now for putting him in this position. Having Jake so close to me like he was right now made me realize that I didn't have to doubt. He was here for me while Edward wasn't. It didn't matter what I felt for him, all that mattered was that I had to protect Jake from pain.

When we came back, everyone was done with their own tents and started getting things together to prepare lunch. Edward was bent over some rocks putting up a fire. Alice and Jasper were getting things out of their backpacks. Rose and Emmet were, well, they were busy in their own tent. I helped Alice put all the food on a blanket and served drinks for everyone.

Surprisingly it felt good to be with everyone. We told jokes and stories from the past. The sky was a clear blue sky and the sun was shinning really brightly. Edward came up with the idea of bathing in a stream he found a while ago. Since no one had brought a swimming suit with them, we stayed in our clothes and just played with the water. We splashed each other and laughed liked never before. We also took a time to play some volleyball close to the camping site. I just worked as referee while Alice, Rose and Jake played against Edward, Jasper, and Emmet.

By nightfall I was breathless and wet with sweat. We each took turns bathing while the others prepared things for dinner. The water felt warm and good to my touch. After today, I was starting to feel better. It wasn't weird between Edward and me anymore. Jake seemed to notice and took comfort in that. Of course, I told him he would never loose me so that made him more smug and confident.

When I came back to the camping site, Edward was alone in front of the fire. He seemed to be concentrating on something so I just sat in a log next to his.

"Jake went after you if you're wondering where he is. He wanted to take the next turn to bathe" Edward told me.

"I wasn't but thanks anyways. I imagine Alice and Jasper are busy and so are Rose and Emmet, correct?" I asked.

"This is like a honeymoon for them. A chance to be together a lone without any parents nagging us" he answered.

I was about to ask him about his fiancée but everyone chose this very moment to come out of their tents. So we each grabbed a stick and started to cook some wieners we brought with us. I was already on my second when Jake came back. He was a bit bothered by the fact that we started eating without him but I shut him up by kissing him in the cheek.

For the rest of the night we each took turns telling scary stories. When we finished, Rose wanted to play have you ever. I tried to come up with some excuse to get myself out of this, but I was trapped. Edward wanted to play and so did Jake. I had no choice but to also play. Let me explain how the game is played.

Each person in turn has to ask the other if they had ever done something and if that person hasn't then he or she has to drink. Luckily for Rose, Emmet had brought enough liquor to give to twenty people.

The first person to go was Rose of course. Since she came up with the game I went ahead and asked her first. "Okay Rose, have you ever done a blowjob?" I asked her. She blushed and gave a reproachful look then took a sip from her bottle. We all broke out in laughter. I could well imagine who it was with and the guilty party was very smug about it too.

The next person to go was Alice. I don't know why Rose picked her but was glad that it was that way. "Okay, little miss chirpy. Have you ever made out with a teacher to get better grades?" Rose asked her. It went silent with the exception of the crickets. We all looked at Alice who tried to hide her head as a guilty person, then took a sip from her bottle. Neither of us asked when this happened, we didn't want to know.

Alice picked Jasper afterwards. "I'm sorry sweetie for this. But we have to be even now. Have you ever had a crush on your math tutor and gotten a hard on when she dressed sexy?" she asked.

"That was two, but I'll answer anyways" Jasper replied and took a sip from his bottle. Guess this evened out the playing between this cute couple. I smiled at their looks. It was pretty obvious that despite their differences and their mishaps in the past, they both loved each other. I envied them. It was so easy for both of them

Next, Jasper chose Edward as his victim. He looked serious all of a sudden. It made us all nervous. "Let's get things out in the open, shall we Edward? Have you ever gotten over your feelings for Miss Bella Swan?" he asked.

Again it became silent but this time for a whole different reason. No one was gaping or trying to stiffen a laugh. The tension in the place was almost unbearable. I could feel my heart start to race by Edward's pause. He suddenly looked at me intensely as if trying to apologize. His eyes reflected a pain I didn't think he ever had. I wanted to go to him again, but my body wouldn't respond.

We all waited to see Edward's response. It took him a good while but neither one of us hurried him. Finally, he drank from his bottle. Only, he didn't take a sip, he drank the whole thing and got up. He had his back to me now. I could sense he was trying to control his emotions and not create a scene.

Since he had the ball in his court now, he chose to ask me the question. He turned back and looked at me. "It's your turn now Bella. Have you ever stopped loving me?" he asked me.

I was afraid of being asked that question since it implied a lot. Firstly, that I loved him to begin with. Secondly that such feelings that might or might not have existed at such given time, still exist. I didn't know how to react. I could everyone looking at me; especially Jake. I couldn't answer truthfully, not without hurting him. So I did the first logical thing that came to mind. I got up and went to my tent. I didn't really answer the question, although if you don't drink it meant a no. I didn't care what everyone thought my answer was. I just needed to be alone.

EPOV

I wanted to strangle Jasper for asking that mother fucking question. I was stupid too though. I could have just lied and said no. I don't know what made me drink the whole bottle. Maybe I just needed the liquor. Who am I kidding? The moment I felt Bella's gaze on me, I couldn't lie; not to her, not again. Enough was enough.

I was an asshole too. I didn't have to ask her that question either. I could have saved her the position of having to choose between me and Jacob. I couldn't have her anyways. Why do I keep on forgetting that one tiny detail?

When Bella got up and ran to her tent I wanted to go after her but Jacob put a hand on my chest and stopped me. "You already had your shot with her Cullen and you lost her. Now leave her alone" he told me and went to her tent.

I didn't see again until later that night when everyone was already dozed off. The night was pretty much ruined by my big mouth and Jasper's, so they all just went to sleep.

I tried closing my eyes and dozing off but I just couldn't. My eyes and my brain didn't want to cooperate tonight. I sat in one of the logs and watched the stars. Sometimes looking at the night sky helped me relax.

Suddenly I heard a zipper open and saw Bella come out of her tent. She was going back but I asked her stay. I told her I need to talk with her. She thought for a second and then sat down in the same log as before, keeping her distance from me.

"Bella…I'm sorry…for before. I shouldn't have put you in that position. I was an asshole and I'm sorry. I promised everyone I would behave around you, but I suddenly lost it. When Jasper asked me that one question…something in me clicked and I just had to know…." I started explaining.

"Did you lie? When you drank that whole bottle…. were you lying?" she asked me. Her voice was so quiet; if everyone were awake I would have never heard her right.

"I didn't. I still…. I still love you Bella" I confessed. Seems like this night was all about silences because that's mostly what we got. I could hear the crickets and the winds making the leaves rustle. It was so peaceful and yet I was anxious.

"Why? If you….you have a fiancé Edward….how can you…" she started to ask but I stopped her and explained everything about my engagement with Patricia. I didn't leave anything behind. "Well… you have to live with the choice you made. I'm sorry" was all she said before getting up and leaving.

She was right. I had to assume my responsibility now. I had made a choice and I was sticking to it.

For the next days that followed, we went sightseeing and stopped at some shops in Tennessee. Since the girls had to pay for plane tickets to get here, we gave them the time to do as they wanted. We even went to a zoo and an aquarium. It was nice to see them smile like children. We ate at some pretty good restaurants while we stayed at a fancy hotel paid by our loving parents. It was like going on a school trip, just that we didn't have any chaperones, and it made thing much better. We were free to do as we pleased.

When the time came, we all said our goodbyes. I had to go back to Boston with Jasper and Emmet. Jacob was taking the girls back to Forks. I made Alice promise me to give Esme and Carlisle my love. I missed them a lot and I won't probably see them until the rehearsal dinner, which would be in a week.

The worst goodbye of all was with Bella. Jacob was still clingy with her but he let her shake my hand at least. It just felt so formal. I wanted more, but I wasn't going to push it. I got to spend a great week with her, and I couldn't ask for more. Now I had to go back to my own personal hell.


	25. Chapter 25 Part One

I wanted the last chapter to be ultra special, so I included most of the characters here. Given that, it turned out to be longer than I expected, so I cut it in 3 parts. Hope you guys love it just as much as I did. This was my favorite chapter of all.

God bless!!!

* * *

Rose POV

The trip was a success, at least I thought so. Edward and Bella kind of kicked off after that night. Something in their behavior after that changed. I looked at the person sleeping next to me in bed and kissed his forehead. Emmet was always a grump in the morning and it made him cute. After he came back from the airport last night, we let our hormones take over yet again. It wasn't my fault really. I just missed him a lot these past couple of days.

I got up from bed and put my bathrobe on. I was only going to find us something to eat. Emmet probably wanted to have some pizza or something heavy, as usual. Luckily my parents had already left for work and they didn't notice when Emmet came in last night. My parents were always completely engrossed in whatever cases they were working on to pay any attention to what happened under their roof. Not misunderstand me, I love my parents, but sometimes they just neglected to pay any attention to their surroundings. Luckily for them, the only bad thing I was doing was having sex with Emmet, and I was being very careful about that.

I went to the kitchen and asked out chef to prepare two slices of pizza and a bowl of cereal for me and a friend. Yup, my family has all the services rich families never miss to have. I think the only one in our group who didn't have butlers or chefs were the Cullen. They wanted to have a normal life, whatever that meant. I couldn't picture a life without anyone to serve me. I liked being pampered like that.

Suddenly I heard the doorbell and ran to answer the door. It was a bit early for either Alice or Bella to come visit me. At first I didn't recognize the person in the doorway. She was wearing very mature clothing; a mid-length blue skirt, white blouse, blue jacket and white high heels. She looked elegant and sophisticated. Her hair flowed in blonde curls and she had baby blue eyes. The eyes did it for me though. I didn't know anyone else who had those same baby blue eyes in the entire world.

"Tanya?" I asked the woman.

The girl laughed in a bell like voice. "That would be correct. How have you been Rose" she asked me. She took me in her arms and embraced as if were lifelong friends. Emmet suddenly showed up behind me in only his boy shorts. He had no class or shame whatsoever. "Emmet! My! You haven't changed a bit!" Tanta exclaimed.

Emmet was still a bit sleepy at the moment so he only answered with a grunt. How manly of him. I laughed at his reaction then invited Tanya inside the house. We both sat in the salon while Emmet went to my room and got dressed. It was embarrassing enough that Tanya saw him like that. I didn't want him to be a display or anything.

"What are you doing here Tanya?" I asked her. My butler came and served her some tea which she gladly took. Tanya looked so different from the last time we talked. So much more mature at least and businesslike. I realized that she was no longer a girl; she was a lady.

"Well, I went to visit Edward at Dartmouth since I'm going to Harvard and all. And guess what I discover. He's engaged! I was quite hurt by that. He is still quite important to me you know. However, I thought that if he was happy with this girl, well, then I could be happy for him. But then I met the girl. She was quite ladylike so I didn't think badly about her at first. Then I noticed that Edward was not happy around her. It was as if he were her sad little puppy. That did it for me. I tried to convince Edward to break off this engagement. He clearly didn't have his heart on this. I don't want him to do something he'll regret Rose" she explained to me.

I understood her feelings quite perfectly. Jasper, Alice, Emmet and I have been trying really hard to get Edward to break up with Patricia, but Edward was stubborn as hell. Nothing seemed to work, not even getting Bella close to him. I think Bella was worse. She wasn't affected by Edward's confession at the camp. When he told her how he hated Patricia, she didn't react or anything. I wanted to shake her or something. They both might think we weren't listening, but we were way awake. The only one who was an ignorant to the situation was Jacob and that helped.

"And what do you have planned Tanya? Because we all have tried almost everything to get Edward and Bella back together. They are hurting from this so much, it's taking a toll on all of us" I told her.

Tanya looked at me surprised. "Bella? You mean Bella Swan? Wow! Edward fell in love her, huh? That might help. Well, if she's the one he loves then we have to find a way to get them back together" she answered me.

I laughed silently. Just then Emmet came back down, fully dressed. "We've already tried. Those two are way too stubborn for their own good" he told Tanya.

"Well, we all have to be even more stubborn than them. I imagine you tried getting them in the same room or something like that, correct?" she asked. When we didn't answer she continued. "That won't work. I know Edward. Once he's committed to something there's no changing his mind. We have to find a way to fight the enemy, know her weakness and use it against her. There has to be a reason why she came back to Edward's life. Why now of all times? And why does she want to marry him of all people? Don't get me wrong, I know Edward is a fantastic guy, but why would she be interested in him?" she started asking.

Emmet and I looked at each and smiled. He handed me my phone and I dialed Jasper's number. He picked up after the third ring; it was quite obvious he was busy attending to someone. "Jasper, we need you help. Do you think you use your investigative skills and dig in some information about Patricia? We might just have ourselves an out" I told him.

"Rose? Why? What are planning this time? Look, Edward told us not to get in the middle of this anymore. He wants out of his love life, you heard him the last time we talked" he told me.

"Jasper, just do it" I told him over the phone and hung up.

Tanya was smiling mischievously. "That will work. In the meantime, we need to find a flight to Boston for Edward's wedding. If my plan is to work out the way I want it to, we need Bella to fly there and stop that wedding. I imagine she doesn't have enough funds to actually buy a plane ticket, does she?" Again no answer. "Okay, We'll all buy it for her. Now, I need to know if she's dating anyone at the moment"

"She's dating Jacob Black. He's a cool guy but we all know that Bella doesn't even love the dude. She just liked hanging out with him. There's no chemistry there" Emmet explained.

"Then get him. I imagine he is a person Bella trusts. He may help us get her on that plane" Tanya added.

"Why would he even help us? He wants Bella to himself, he would never agree to get her back together with Edward; that would mean losing her" Emmet asked.

"Jacob loves Bella, I'm sure he's already noticed he lost her. It was pretty obvious during our trip. He's no idiot. I think it's best if we kidnap him though and for that we will need you and Jasper. Do you think you can do it baby?" I told Emmet. I kissed him in the neck which just made him turn all soft. He agreed to the mission instantly.

We only had until the end of the week to put our plan into motion. Edward was getting married on Tuesday of next week.

After putting everything together, we all went to the studio and started looking for some flights to Boston for Monday. If the wedding was going to be in the morning, then Bella needed to be there the night before the ceremony. We still weren't sure whether she would do it, but we had to try. This was our last shot.

Jasper POV

After Rose hung up, I looked at the phone in confusion. I still had no idea what Rose was thinking and why she wanted that information. I was a bit dozed off after last night. I heard Alice come in with our breakfast. She was only wearing her lingerie and it made me want to eat her instead of the cereal. When she came to my side and started kissing me I let out a groan. I was getting a hard on yet again. I don't know how she does it but she just takes my breath away.

I forgot for a second what Rose asked me to do but then I heard my cell vibrate and read the text message Rose just sent me.

From: Rosalie Hale

Don't get distracted by Alice and do what you have to do. We need that info.

9:54pm 04/18/2008

Too bad I wasn't the only one reading the sms. Alice was right behind me. I had to explain to her the phone conversation I had with Rose just a few minutes ago. Surprisingly, Alice understood what was going on better than I did. She told me it was to find a way to frame Patricia and get her to be the one to cancel the wedding. This plan was way too thorough to come from Rose though. We both looked at each other confused. Someone else had come up with this, the question left was who.

We didn't think about it much. I got up from bed quickly and started researching in the internet for any information about Patricia's family. There was bound to be something incriminating. She came from a wealthy family who had to appear in some newspaper article.

Alice sat on my bed and used her own laptop to dig in. We were both good at this kind of stuff. That was one of the reasons why I loved her. She may be a bit too perky and childish, but deep down, she was a very intellectual person and that was a major turn on.

We must have spent most of the afternoon looking for newspaper articles, but the ones that mentioned Patricia's dad always talked about some charity he just did or some project he started on. I was about to give up my search and call it quits when Alice called my name. I went to her side and she showed me a page about the current stock market.

"Alice, what does this have to do with Patricia's dad? I read this section on the newspaper every day honey. The company is going great as far as I'm concerned. Last week they just won about a million more dollars" I told her. I didn't mean to sound irritated, but this research was giving me a headache.

"That's where you're wrong. They did win, but they went into debt. Look" she showed me the company's latest investments. There had to be something wrong with those numbers. They couldn't be real. How could a company win so much money and loose even more? It didn't make any sense. But there it was, in clear letter and numbers. The graphs never lied.

"Shit. This means that Patricia's dad just went flat broke. Apparently they've been like that for over a year now. They were getting more and more into debt. Holy shit. This would explain why Patricia showed up now. She wants Edward's money to save her father's company" I exclaimed. It all made sense now.

"No way is that bitch getting a hand on Carlisle's money. Over my dead body. I have to tell Carlisle" she was about to dial Carlisle's office number but I stopped her and took her phone.

"Don't even try. I have a better idea. Let's just humiliate that bitch. She wanted to be part of our happy family, right? Well, let's welcome her and play at her own game" I teased. Alice seemed to like the idea and giggled.

We called Rose with the news shortly afterwards. We also asked whose idea it was to dig up a little about Patricia's family; it was Tanya's. I was surprised and mildly scared. Apparently Tanya is one girl you don't want to mess with.

We all decided to meet up at Rose's place that very night to put everything together. The plan was now in motion. That bitch was going to fall.


	26. Chapter 25 Part Two

Emmet POV

Part 1 of the plan was to kidnap the brat and bring him to the wine cellar at my place. We couldn't let him know it was us, so we put a mask to cover our faces and dressed all in black, just like in the movies. I actually felt like a badass. I laughed to myself.

"Now Emmet, you better not give yourself away. Jacob will probably give a fight so you have to punch him in the stomach to make him pass out. Don't….be…too…rough. Got that honey?" Rose asked me and kissed me. I promised I wouldn't beat the guy to a bloody pulp, although I really wanted to. That was the fun part. Too bad.

Jasper and I got in another one of my dad's Jeep and drove to the Reservation. All the kids were playing soccer, we found Jacob driving from his water bottle close to the benches. We waited until he was by himself. The game continued for like half an hour. Then everyone left to take a shower. Jacob was left behind putting everything away. We took our golden chance.

When he first saw us he acted defensive, just as Rose warned me he would. But between me and Jasper, we both took on the brat and got him in the car. It was so easy. We heard another dude call out his name, but we were already driving away. No one could or would chase after us.

When we took Jacob, we also made sure we put a blindfold on his so that he wouldn't know where we were taking him. It was like a real kidnapping. The only thing we forgot was to put something in his mouth for him not to talk. All else we did. We put one of my cuffs on him so the he wouldn't be able to fight anymore. I looked at my rearview mirror and noticed he was waking up. There was not much he could do though, and we ignored his questions until we got him strapped to a chair in my wine cellar. Once secured; we took his blindfold off and our masks off.

"What the fuck are you doing man?! Why? What?" he tried getting himself free but the rope was pretty tight and his handcuffs didn't let him move his hands.

"We need you to hear us out Jacob. Dude. We know you are dating Bella now, but she doesn't want you man. She's just with you out of pity" I told the kid. I know it was a bit harsh of me and Jasper hit me in one of my ribs to shut me up.

"Fuck you!" Jacob shouted. No one would hear him though. The girls were right upstairs and not even they could hear what was going on here. This place was soundproof and in the basement of my mansion.

"Jacob. Don't listen to Emmet here, he's just being stupid. We know you love Bella and we have a major favor to ask you. It might be the worst thing you'll do or the best, you choose. But if you're the good guy we think you are, you'll do whatever it takes to make Bella happy again. Will you hear us out?" Jasper sweet talked to him. I snorted. Jasper was always like this, the smooth talker. I just wanted to scare the guy while he wanted to appeal to his better nature.

"Is this your way of asking for a favor? Kidnap someone and them to a chair?" he asked us.

That was enough. I got up and pulled on the guy's shirt collar. "Look you… You didn't leave us much of a choice! You wouldn't have given us the time of day if we did other wise!" I shouted. Jasper pulled my arms away and I let the guy go.

The room was silent for a while. Then the kid spoke. "Fine. What do you want me to do? Break up with Bella? Although I think that won't be necessary. I am no idiot. I know she is still crazy about Cullen. I could see it in her eyes. I tried to fight for her, but each and every time that asshole won. He doesn't even deserve her! He cheated on her!" the kid started to complain but I shut him up by hitting him in the head. "Hey! What was that for you fucking idiot?!" he shouted.

"Jake… we don't need you to break up with Bella. We only need you to get her on a plane to Boston. We need her to stop Edward's wedding to Patricia. We think you're the only one who can make that happen. If you love her, you'll let her be with the one her heart chooses. It doesn't matter who deserves who, just who loves who, and we all know that Bella loves Edward" Jasper explained.

The kid was silent for a while, which proved to be a comfort to me. But then he spoke. "How can she stop that wedding anyways? Cullen is probably pretty set up on marrying that girl, what could possibly change his mind?" he asked.

We explained to him why Edward was doing all of this and the info Alice found on Patricia's dad. The kid was completely silent and thoughtful. After a while Jasper asked me to untie him and let him leave. I wanted to keep him like that for a while longer, I mean, this way this it was easy to beat him to a bloody pulp. But Jasper wasn't having it. So I untied him and he left without a word. Not even an insult or a comeback. We had really shocked him.

Now it was all up to Jacob Black.

Jacob POV

I called Sam to come pick me up. I had to ask blondie the directions to this place because it was the first time I was ever here. Before leaving she gave me a piece of notebook paper with her number on it. I looked at her with a raised brow.

"When you decide what you want to do, call me. We need to know so that we can give Bella the plane ticket" she told me.

I didn't say a thing. What else was there for me to say? Smooth boy was right. If I loved Bella I had to do the right thing. The only problem was that I didn't want to do it. I was being selfish, I know. But I didn't want to loose Bella. After all these years of trying to get her attention, she is finally mine. She is my girlfriend. I can take care of her and make her happy. Cullen just broke her; he didn't deserve to be with her. He didn't watch the tears fall from her eyes every time something reminded her of him. He didn't hold her in his arms when she felt scared or vulnerable. He just wasn't fucking there. I was. Then why did I have to loose her?

I remembered the trip we took a while ago. I tried getting close to Bella but sometimes I would catch her smiling awkwardly at Cullen. I know that she's a sweet and innocent person and hates to treat people like dirt, so I didn't say anything about it. Still, it killed me to see her like that. And that night at the camp, when Cullen told her he still loved her, it was pretty obvious to anyone who had a functional brain that Bella was confused with her feelings. If she loved me then she wouldn't be confused at all, right?

And after that trip, Bella started to act distant. She still hugged me sometimes, but her kisses weren't the same as before. There was no passion or fire behind it. It was like kissing a sister. I hated it. I want her to want me and only me, but at some point along the way, I lost her. Or just maybe, I never really had her to begin with.

I came back home and started having a temper tantrum. I threw some of my stuff against the wall and hit my head against it. Just thinking of Bella with Cullen made me irritated and pissed. Why couldn't she be happy with me? God damn it!

By nightfall I decided. I took the paper blondie had given me and dialed the numbers. I knew I was going to regret this, but if it made Bella happy, I was willing to live with it.

The next day I took Bella out on a date; our last date together. It felt kind of weird, knowing that I wouldn't be able to be with her like this anymore. Bella suspected something was off with me but I ignored her questions. After the movie was over, I was supposed to drive her back home, but instead I took a detour and went to the Cullen mansion.

Once there she asked me. "Why are we here?" I could sense the fear in her voice. This wasn't one of her favorite places. I laughed silently.

I took her hand and led her inside, where the gang was waiting for her in the living room. I didn't let go of her hand until I was certain she could handle herself. I could imagine this place brought back memories that hurt her, but she needed this. She needed to realize what her true feelings were and face them. Sometimes, we just have to face our fears. That's what my dad always told me.

Bella looked around the room in surprise and confusion. The first to speak was the pixie one. I just stood against one of the walls keeping an eye for Bella. If this was too much for her, I was going to take her back to her place.

"Bella, you might be wondering why Jacob brought you here and….well…there's something you need to know; about Edward. And this might kind of shocking so you might want to sit down" pixie doll helped Bella sit in one of the sofa's. Blondie sat to one of her sides and another blonde I didn't recognize to her other side.

When Bella didn't speak, blondie cut in. "Alice was doing some digging and she found out something about Patricia that you and Edward ought to know"

Then smooth boy gave Bella a folder with some graphs and numbers in it. That must be the stock holdings that girl's dad had. "As you can well see, Patricia's dad lost a lot of money in the stock market. He tried getting some of it back, but he was too behind on his debts. The company is broke and so is Patricia's family" he explained.

Then the big one spoke. "Which means that Edward is marrying a two timing bitch. And we can't have that. We need you stop him Bella. You're the only one who can"

Finally Bella spoke and her words cut deep in my chest. "Why can't you tell him? Why do I have to be the one to tell him? Besides, why should I even care? I'm with Jake now! Why can't you guys just leave it at that? I can't hurt Jake! Not after…" she started to say.

And that's where I cut in. "Bells. You don't have to protect me. I love you but I'm not forcing you to be in a relationship with me out of pity. I want you to be happy and if it means that you're happy with Cullen, then fine. I already told once, didn't I? I only want for you to be happy. Now, the only thing that is stopping you from being with Cullen is yourself. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. It's you who has to make a choice now"

Bella looked unsure at the papers in her hands. She started biting her lip like she always did when she was anxious about something.

"Besides, the only person he'll listen to is you" pixie doll told her.

Then blondie handed Bella an airplane ticket. It was a two way flight to Boston booked for next Monday. Bella looked at the ticket and then at every one else, including me.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked us.

"Silly, because we want you and Edward to have the happy ending we all have" pixie doll told her then blondie and her hugged her. I noticed a tear fall from Bella's eye but this time it wasn't from sadness. For the first time in months, she was really happy,


	27. Chapter 25 Part Three

BPOV

I talked to Charlie and told him about the ticket my friends bought me. He wasn't happy at first and thought I was going on too many trips. But I told him I canceled my trip to Phoenix and that shut him up.

I prepared my stuff with Alice's help. I made sure I had all of the necessities. Before zipping up my bad I looked around and noticed a black lace, so I pulled out. I instantly let go of it and backed away scared. What was black lingerie doing in my bag? Just one name came to mind and I promised myself I would kill that pixie girl as soon as I laid my hands on her. There was no way I was having sex during this trip. Still, the idea appealed to me in some way. I remembered that night at the pool, and then the afternoon in the couch and felt myself grow warm. I liked the feeling of Edward's hands all over me. I put the lingerie back inside without a second thought.

Everything was set for the trip. Alice, Rose, Emmet, and Jasper had already left before me because they needed to be there for the rehearsal dinner. I still had a few days before I left. So I took the time and prepared some food for Charlie to heat up whenever he needed to. He might not be able to handle a stove but I think he'll be fine with a microwave.

Finally, it was Monday. I was so anxious and nervous I couldn't sleep the night before. This was the first time I came to Boston. the place was as beautiful as I pictured it. Ad the airport was filled with people walking to and fro; many were Ivy League students waiting for their parents to come visit them. It made me feel out of place to see them. But then again, I might be able to study here. My grades were good enough and I had my extracurricular in order.

Alice was waiting for me in her limo. I looked at her surprised. Alice was not a person who liked to show off. Once inside she told me. "I don't like being in this thing. It makes me feel out of place. But since the wedding is in just a few hours, Patricia wanted me to ride using this. She told me she never goes anywhere without it. I am so sure she is using Carlisle's money. Ugh! It makes me so mad!"

I had to ask. "Alice, didn't Carlisle try to break this engagement before?"

Alice smiled at me. "Believe me, he did, many times. But Bill is as much an asshole as his daughter is a bitch. He wouldn't listen to what Carlisle had to say. His answer always was that Edward and Patricia were quite happy and it would be a disaster if we broke them apart. That thief! We are going to bury them deep Bella. The truth will come out one way or the other"

We finally arrived at my hotel. The place was huge. It had like 50 floors or so. God knows how many rooms it must have! And the lobby was so elegant and beautiful. I felt bad. I had never noticed just how rich the Cullen were. Alice gave me my key and we head for my room.

If I thought the lobby was great, it was nothing compared to the room Alice got me. It was like an apartment. There was a big kitchen with all the necessary appliances, and a huge living room with beautiful furniture, and the master bedroom had the biggest bed I had yet to see. Two people could sleep there comfortably. I looked at Alice confused and started to ask but before I could even formulate the answer I went completely red. Because two people were probably going to sleep here. I wanted to strangle Alice but she was far from my grasp.

Alice POV

I could sense Bella was a bit uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a room with Edward, but if they getting together for real, then there bound to be some action. Besides, where else was Edward going to stay if he and Patricia broke up? I thought a lot about it and came to the conclusion that he was going to stay here with Bella. This was my gift to the two of them.

"Okay, so, tomorrow morning I will my chauffeur come pick you up and drive you to the Church. Now, until then, I want you to rest. You need to look perfect for tomorrow. Got that?" I told Bella.

I kissed her in the cheek and left. Everything was going according to the plan. Tanya was such a genius!

We all celebrated that night. We drank like there was no tomorrow. We were so happy everything was going great, and since it was Patricia's first bachelorette party, I wanted it to be memorable. I made sure she drank a lot. When she started to argue I reminded her I was the maid of honor and this was my gift to her. She couldn't possibly be mean to me. Rose and exchanged glances and smiled. We had to make sure that Patricia was plastered enough to be a terrible mess in the morning, and we did. Of course, the strippers we hired were a big help. Every time they danced close to her, they gave her more and more liquor. It was going perfect.

The next day, Patricia had a huge hangover. Her head was hurting and every time Rose and I talked she would loose her temper and scream at us. This made me giggle a lot. I don't know why, but I actually enjoyed watching her suffer. Guess payback is a bitch but it feels so good.

To top it all, I was helping Patricia with her hair. I had told her I was professional arranging hairstyles and showed her some phony pictures I found on Google. She totally bought it. To be truthful, the one with the good hand was Rosalie and she currently busy working on her hair and Bella's. While I brushed Patricia's hair, I made sure she felt the pain from the hangover and me pulling her hair. She cried in pain and I laughed to myself. Of course, she never knew what was going on. I was a good actress, Jasper always told me that.

I looked at the clock and made sure there were only a few minutes left till the ceremony. I needed as little time as possible. When I was done with her hair and dress and everything else, I let her look at herself in the big mirror in the room. Her expression was priceless, I was sad that Rose couldn't be here to see this.

"What? Alice! What did you do to my hair?! And my make-up… No….no…this can't be happening. You have to fix it! I look like a whore!" she told me.

I looked up and shower the clock. "Sorry, I don't have much time to redo your hair and make up. Sorry. I thought this was what you wanted. Besides, didn't I tell you I was bad at this?" I asked her all too innocently.

Patricia was pissed. She walked towards me all enraged. "You…told..me…that you were like a professional at this!!" she screamed.

I looked apologetically. "Sorry! I meant to say Rose was like a pro, not me!"

Patricia grunted in frustration and started stomping back and forth in the room. Just then her dad appeared at the door. He took one good look at his daughter and exclaimed. "Honey, you look like a clown. Well, is that's what the kids like to use these days".

Just then Rose appeared in the door and announced that it was time to start the show. I went after her and left father and daughter alone. Rose and laughed as silently as possible. The doors to the Church opened and in we went. I looked at one of the chairs and saw Bella there. Her hair was perfect, I had to hand it to Rose; she knew hot to do her job. To avoid being noticed, she was wearing my pair of sunglasses. No one could recognize her.

Time to get the show on the road.

Edward POV

Everything was going perfectly. Everyone was here and I made sure things went smoothly. At least I thought so until I saw Patricia. Her make-up was a mess and her hair was so high, a bird could a nest in it. There was only one person who was capable of doing this and I looked at her. She answered me by raising her shoulder innocently. I had to laugh quietly to myself. I knew she wasn't too happy to see me get married to Patricia, so I let her little misdemeanor go. I was sure to pay for it later though.

Once Patricia got to my side, the priest started to say a few words. I was too zoned out to even care. I just wanted to get it all over with. When he asked whether anyone had any objections, Patricia turned around and looked at everyone with reproach as if threatening them. Finally I saw a woman stand up.

"I object to this marriage" she said. She was smiling a sweet smile that could make any man melt. She was a goddess to anyone's eyes. She was wearing a short green flowered spring dress and white sandals. Her lips were so tempting, I wanted to run to her and kiss her. Although I couldn't see her eyes due to her sunglasses, she looked incredibly beautiful. There was only one person who I knew that looked like that. My heart started to race a mile a minute, until she took off her sunglasses and I could see the brown in her eyes. Then I felt the right in my hand fall. The sound was loud due to the incredible silence in the room.

"And who the hell are you?" I heard Patricia ask. I really wanted to shut her up right there. But I held my place and waited for Bella to speak and explain herself.

"I'm you worst nightmare of course. I come in behalf of the Cullen household. If I may be give the chance to speak for them please father" she answered in her sweet angelic voice. In the first row of seats I heard Bill ask Carlisle what the hell was going on and who was that woman. Carlisle just raised his shoulder. That was the same question I wanted answered. The first, not the second.

The priest gave Bella the chance to speak up so she came forward and handed me and Carlisle a folder each. In it there were some graphs and numbers I recognized as the stocks that Bill's father had. It took only a minute to understand what they meant. Suddenly Bill got up and threw the folder at Bella.

"Look young lady. You have no right coming in here and bring false documents!! I know what you want. You want money, right?? That's why you want to stop this wedding. Because you want to take this young gentleman's money. Well, let me show you what happens to anyone who interferes!!" he started screaming and slapped Bella. She fell to the ground and put a hand in her swollen cheek.

That was enough to set me off. I grabbed the guy's shirt collar and hit him right in the nose making sure blood came out of it. Then I went and helped Bella stand up.

"I'm afraid the only one who is trying to rip this family of its money is you and your daughter Bill. And I'm also afraid, it's over now. Now leave before I call the authorities" I heard Carlisle tell Bill.

Before leaving Patricia looked at me with disgust and said some insults about Bella that I don't even want to mention. I looked back at Bella. "I'm so sorry Bella. For everything. I was an idiot. I should have suspected that something was off with her…I really…" I was saying but she stopped me by kissing me full in the lips, with tongue and everything. It felt so good to have her like this again. There were no words to describe this incredible feeling I had. I was too happy. I pulled Bella closer to me and kissed with more passion than she ever experienced in her whole life.

When I let her go she told me the three words I was dying to hear. "I love you Edward Cullen" and then I kissed her again. She already knew my feelings.

This was the start of our many memories together and nothing could take this away. Not anymore.


	28. The End

I'm sorry

I know I promised to write a sequel. But it's been months since I wrote my last chapter and now I can't bring myself to continue on. So, I will end it at chapter 25. Sorry for those who wanted more.

I really prefer to start another heartbreaking story than continue this one. There is so much Edward and Bella can go through and I'm not one to make this couple get married.

So, better leave it at that. This was an awesome story and I loved writing it. It was a refreshing break from reality.

Thanks for you fans who have read and wrote your comments, I love you!!!


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